In the beginning, Halo was imagined as a real-time strategy game. The final product ended up being something drastically different, but now Halo is going back to the RTS genre with Halo Wars. This new addition to the Halo franchise is being developed by RTS veteran, Ensemble Studios. These are the same guys who created the Age of Empires franchise, so you can be assured that they know their stuff when it comes to real-time strategy.
Halo Wars will be a prequel of sorts and takes place during early UNSC encounters with the Covenant. You'll lead the crew of the UNSC "Spirit of Fire" into combat and have access to classic Halo vehicles such as Warthogs and Scorpions. RTS games can be tricky to play on a console, but Halo Wars is being designed from the ground up for the Xbox 360. Bungie will help Ensemble craft the storyline and help ensure that everything fits in with Halo continuity.
So far, no release info has been made available.
