‘Halo 5: Guardians’ Dev Gives A Sneak Peek Of Beta, Halo Nightfall, Agent Locke And More

IN PHOTO: Vistors wait at the "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" exhibition stand during the Gamescom 2014 fair in Cologne August 13, 2014. The Gamescom convention, Europe's largest video games trade fair, runs from August 13 to August 17. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

With the beta for "Halo 5: Guardians" will be rolling out as early as December this year, 343 Industries has revealed a few more things about the upcoming multiplayer beta, starting with the reason for its early release. Some may be wondering why the beta will be released way earlier than the game, when the predicted arrival of "Halo 5: Guardians" is not until 2015.

In an interview with Express, 343 Industries' Jason Holmes revealed that this was so the studio can implement any changes and improvements that they will be gathering from fan feedback during the beta. Apart from the planned incorporation of feedback into "Halo 5: Guardians," this is also important because there will be new elements introduced into the franchise.

"We are at an early enough stage where we can listen to weapon tuning feedback; the new abilities [are] something we are very interested in also because they're new. It's the first time they've been added into the core gameplay of Halo," said Holmes to Express.

Even though the beta is still a month away, the Halo journey has already started, given the release of "Halo: Nightfall." Ridley Scott's latest project has introduced one of the more crucial characters coming in for "Halo 5: Guardians." Since it will be a bridge from "Halo 4" and next year's anticipated title, there's quite a number of new information coming in with the digital five-episode series.

Load the Game has spotted an exclusive with Mike Colter, the actor portraying Agent Locke in "Halo: Nightfall," and he reveals some key facts about the character's role. According to the source, Agent Locke has varying roles in "Halo 5: Guardians" and "Halo: Nightfall." In the former, he will be playing a Spartan IV, while in the latter, he will be an agent for the Office of Naval Intelligence.

However, the biggest kicker is that his role is not yet clear. He is not yet defined to be a friend or a foe despite the fact that he is looking for Master Chief. What's more, fans are not informed of what will happen to Master Chief when he is found, or why exactly Locke is trying to find him in the first place.

There's still time before "Halo 5: Guardians" will debut on its beta run this December. But for now, the five-episode digital series may do the trick as fans count down the days of the Halo journey.