Skip to main content

Halo 5 teaser site Hunt The Truth investigates ‘the real Master Chief’

halo 5 teaser site hunt the truth master chief
Image used with permission by copyright holder
It all started with a tease. Over the weekend, a video appeared on the official Xbox YouTube channel, with a link to a Tumblr page showing a timer that was counting down.

The time is now up, and we now know what it was all leading to: “Hunt The Truth,” a website and podcast investigating the mysterious Master Chief, in the same vein as the blockbuster NPR podcast Serial.

The website introduces Benjamin Giraud, a fictional journalist and war photographer residing inside the Halo universe, who has been tasked with an in-depth profile of Master Chief, the protagonist of most of the Halo games. “I’ve seen the absolute worst of humanity and I’ve also seen the best,” his bio reads. “A few months ago, I was hired to do an in-depth profile on the Chief. Join me as I hunt the truth.”

There isn’t much to the site itself — not yet, anyway. The main attraction here are the audio logs. Only the first episode, entitled “Primer,” is currently available, with the next installment slated for March 29. The first episode’s description reads “What began as a high-profile hero story quickly turns into a full-blown investigation. Sources claim they know the ‘real Master Chief’: The boy, the soldier, the hero … the traitor? But who’s telling the truth?”

Longtime fans of the Halo series may find this familiar, as a similar but far more complicated piece of viral marketing appeared in 2004 as part of the lead-up to Halo 2. “I Love Bees” was an alternate-reality game (ARG) that centered around a website of the same name. By the end of the game, players were tracking down mysterious phone booths in trying to solve the mystery. As a reward, the most dedicated fans were given a chance to play Halo 2 before its release date.

Since fans have already had a chance to play the Halo 5: Guardians beta, it’s unlikely that a similar scenario will take place here, but that doesn’t rule out the emergence of other ARG attributes as the “Hunt The Truth” saga continues.

Editors' Recommendations

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
How to unlock the Master Chief skin in Fortnite
how to unlock the master chief skin in fortnite matte black outfit style 1920x1080 6368d7597dad

As revealed during The Game Awards 2020, Halo's Master Chief has come to Fortnite, and you can unlock the character now. Master Chief joins Kratos as a console-exclusive mascot, though you can get his outfit and items across any platform. It's absolutely wild to play as the iconic Xbox character on a PlayStation or Nintendo Switch.

Unlocking the character's outfit works the same way as it did with Kratos, though if you're new to Fortnite or haven't played in a while, you might be unsure of how to get it. In this quick guide, we'll walk you through how to unlock Master Chief and all of his items in Fortnite.

Read more
Halo Infinite gameplay reveal is now playable in Halo 5
A view of the Zeta Halo in Halo Infinite.

Although Microsoft and 343 Industries pushed back the Halo Infinite launch to next year, players won't necessarily need to wait to get a feel for the game.

A level creator who goes by handle Ducain23 says he spent 30 to 40 hours re-creating the Halo Infinite gameplay footage Microsoft revealed at its Games Showcase last month. Now, players who want to check it out can download the level from Halo Waypoint and play it inside Halo 5: Forge.

Read more
Halo Infinite delay hobbles the Xbox Series X launch
Halo: Infinite

Delays are a fact of life in the video game industry -- and they usually make for much better finished products. But the postponement of Halo Infinite couldn’t have come at a worse time for Microsoft.

As the company gears up for another battle with Sony amid a year that has been a financial windfall for game makers, it's had to temporarily holster its most powerful weapon -- and in doing so has muted one of the loudest arguments for buying an Xbox Series X.

Read more