‘Halo 5: Guardians’ Hunt The Truth Looks At Master Chief’s Early Death; 343 Industries And Microsoft Hype Campaign Succeeds

Hot on the heels of the first episode of the Hunt the Truth coverage are some more new revelations on Master Chief’s personal story. Last week, the major twist suggested the possibility that the real Master Chief, then called John, had already died before he became everyone’s renowned hero.

This time, there are images of the supporting documents that supposedly prove the death of John a.k.a. the Master Chief. His last name, however, is blotted out, which is part of the mystery of his identity. As though to prove this even more, there is a diary from Katrina, who used to be one of John’s playmates. She wrote that John had died when they were still kids.

As for the newest audio file, Halo investigator Benjamin Giraud goes on to look into the Master Chief’s so-called death. The episode, which can be heard in the Hunt the Truth website, discusses the records found about John’s death—and how it could be bad records from a glassed colony or a possible cover-up.

Ever since the “Hunt the Truth” website was teased, it seemed that “Halo” fans have been intrigued by 343 Industries and Microsoft’s newest hype campaign. Since then, there have been teasers showing off the two contenders in the game, Master Chief himself and Agent Locke. But the meat of the website is still the continuing narration of Master Chief’s origin story—and the weekly glimpse of the possible untold sides to the hero’s story.

This campaign seems to be working well for the developer and “Halo 5: Guardians.” According to VentureBeat, the numbers that the campaign have garnered is something that shows the success to hype the game. Of the three ads that have been released as part of the campaign, the most popular has managed to get three million views. In terms of sharing and social media actions, it has a total of 56,000 across Google, Facebook and Twitter, making it one of the most talked about commercials online.

What ultimately makes it work may be the fact that it lets fans take an active stance on the campaign. There were hidden clues in the first teaser bullet video. Every week, a new report on Master Chief’s origin story appears, making fans wait for succeeding installments to get the whole picture.

“Halo 5: Guardians” is slated for release on Oct. 27. The expectations for the advertising campaign would be to last until the game arrives. Given the attention and participation that the fans have been giving it, there’s a big chance that “Halo” fans who may have lost touch with the franchise or possible new fans will be reeled in to Microsoft’s 2015 powerhouse title for the Xbox One.

"Halo" Master Chief Ad (Credit: YouTube/Xbox)

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