Fanatics who have built their holiday schedules around the presumed release date of November's Halo 2 anniversary are in for a shock: today Microsoft announced that, on Tuesday, Sept. 25th, Halo 3 will release across the world, with a release date the following day for Europe. Canny observers will note that that's a mere two days after the Tokyo Game Show, an event Microsoft doesn't traditionally care about.

Halo 3 certainly won't lack for pre-release spectacle, with the open beta beginning tomorrow at 5 a.m. PDT and a Halo 3-themed Zune releasing June 15, exclusively at the GameStop retail chain.


"Halo 3 will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in Master Chief's epic battle to save humankind" says Microsoft in their press release. Peter Moore, VP of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business adds, "On Sept. 25, we intend to deliver a finale that will go down in entertainment history and leave people around the world with an experience that will be shared and enjoyed for years to come."

While that's up to the consumers, Halo 2 certainly gives this trilogy closer a big shoe to fill; 2's November 2004 release sold $125 million in its first 24 hours of availability, shattering sales records. It's also still the most-played game on live, at least in an hour comparison -- over 1 billion hours of Halo 2 have been played to date.