"Nobody at Bungie had any idea how big the or Master Chief would be to the Xbox or even the game and entertainment industries as a whole," the community manager told . "Bungie knew that Halo was a fun game... but had no idea it would single-handedly make or break Microsoft's entry into the game console market.

"Could you imagine the Xbox or without Bungie's Halo?" Jarrard concluded.

Microsoft has sold an estimated 22 million copies of Halo since the first game launched in 2001, making it one of the most dominate modern franchises in video game history and pivotal in the success of Microsoft's foray into gaming.

Bungie's next game is a stand-alone expansion to Halo 3 called .