Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004,[1] the game is the second video game title in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically-acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. A Windows Vista version of the game was released on May 17, 2007,[2] developed by an internal team at Microsoft Game Studios referred to as "Hired Gun". The game features a new game engine, as well as using the Havok physics engine; added weapons and vehicles, and new multiplayer maps. The player alternatively assumes the roles of the human Master Chief and alien the Arbiter in a 26th century conflict between the human UNSC and genocidal Covenant. Players fight enemies on foot, or with a collection of alien and human vehicles.[3]
After its initial release, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live,[4] holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later.[5][6] By June 20, 2006, more than 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played and more than 710 million hours have been spent playing it on Xbox Live;[7] by May 9, 2007, this number had risen to more than five million unique players on Xbox Live[8] As of November 2008, Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game[9] with 8.46 million copies sold worldwide,[10] with at least 6.3 million copies sold in the US alone.[11] Critical reception of the game was generally positive, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component; at the same time, the campaign was the focus of criticism for its cliffhanger ending.