The publisher steps forward to deny the recent speculation

Oct 27, 2014 12:28 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has issued a new statement in the wake of many rumors regarding the release date of Halo 5: Guardians, its upcoming first-person shooter made by 343 Industries, saying that they're all false, without offering any other details.

The Halo franchise has been around for over 10 years, appearing first from developer Bungie for the original Xbox and then for the Xbox 360. After the studio decided to branch out from under Microsoft's wing, the large corporation formed a brand new team called 343 Industries, which oversees everything related to Halo, both in terms of games and in terms of movies, adaptations, and so on.

The next big project from 343 is Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which is set to appear next month, but by far the most anticipated is next year's Halo 5: Guardians, which continues the story of Master Chief and introduces many changes to the recipe, such as another playable character.

Last week saw a pretty major leak

While it's pretty obvious that Microsoft is going to launch Halo 5 during the busy fall season for the Xbox One, last week a more specific date seemed to leak out of 343 Industries.

More specifically, a picture of a new employee showed a clock hanging in the studio's cafeteria, seemingly counting down the days until Halo 5 was ready for launch. Some quick math showed that the title might appear on November 10, 2015. This made some sense, as that day is a Tuesday, which is usually when big games are released during a week.

Some 343 Industries representatives issued statements about the clock, saying that it was a legacy from a previous building owner, or that it didn’t have anything to do with Halo 5: Guardians, as that development team worked in an adjacent building.

Microsoft steps forward to dismiss the rumors

Now, a Microsoft representative has stepped forward to squash the rumors once and for all, saying that they're false.

"The recent rumors regarding the release date of Halo 5: Guardians are false," a Microsoft representative tells GameSpot.

Unfortunately, no other details have been given, so fans will have to continue hoping that an actual release date for Halo 5: Guardians will be made available in the following months.

Until then, they can look forward to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which drops on November 11 worldwide on Xbox One, as well as the Halo 5: Guardians beta, which is set to go live on December 29 this year and to last until January 20, 2015.