Microsoft debuts Halo: The Master Chief Collection at big fan event

As the kickoff for its HaloFest celebration, Microsoft formally launched its Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It repackaged four games based on the Master Chief character of the sci-fi series, which has sold more than 60 million copies and generated $3 billion in sales to date.

At its core, the Master Chief Collection is merchandising genius, as the company is selling four old games as new in a $60 package, mainly by making them all playable as one game and beefing up the graphics for the Xbox One video game console. More than a million fans watched the livestreams that previewed tall of this content, and hundreds of thousands of people lined up at more than 4,300 midnight retail events around the world, Microsoft said. The HaloFest event will continue for three days, with the highlight including a tournament with a $50,000 prize.