[image:42829 left hspace=5 vspace=5 border=0] Bungie commemorates the fifth anniversary of the release of Halo with an announcement that touches on both Halo 3 and Halo 2.

First, there will be a Halo 3 television commercial airing during Monday Night Football on December 4th.

Secondly, in the spring of 2007 there will be more Halo 2 maps available. They won't be free, and you'll need a 360 with the hard drive (required for Halo 2 backwards compatibility anyway).

Thirdly, next spring will also see the launch of some kind of Halo 3 Public Beta. Fans will get a chance to play Halo 3 multiplayer on Xbox Live before the game is actually released.

Last but not least, a new screenshot from an actual campaign level, recently reproduced in Newsweek magazine. We've added it to the Halo 3 gallery.

UPDATE: Microsoft has an official press release on the announcements as well; a copy has been posted at Team Xbox.