Halo 3 Goes Gold

Microsoft has sent Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 off to manufacturing, so it can get the much-anticipated game into as many players' hands as possible on September 25.

Microsoft has completed development on Halo 3 for the Xbox 360—the latest installment in the company’s alien butt-kicking, blowing-things-up, maybe-save-humanity franchise—and sent the game off to manufacturing so it can be ready for eager gamers on its official launch date of September 25. Microsoft is looking to “shatter” one-day entertainment sales records when Halo 3 hits shelves; the game has already logged more than one million pre-orders in North America.

“This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios,” said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. “This is the game we’ve always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed.”

Microsoft is billing Halo 3 and the “most anticipated title of 2007,” and aims to leave Halo 2’s day-one sales record of $125 million in the dust. The Halo franchise has proven very lucrative for Microsoft, with players racking up almost a billion hours of Halo 2 online gaming on Xbox Live.

So mark September 25th on your calendar: the way Microsoft’s talking, that’ll either be the day to stand in line at your local game retailer, or avoid the area like it was infested with ichor-dripping alien warriors. Your pick.