Halo 3 is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in 2004's Halo 2. Halo 3s story centers on the interstellar war between twenty-sixth century humanity, a collection of alien races known as the Covenant, and the alien parasite Flood. The player assumes the role of the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, as he battles the Covenant and the Flood. The game features vehicles, weapons, and gameplay elements not present in previous titles of the series, as well as the addition of saved gameplay films, file sharing, and the Forge map editor—a utility which allows the player to perform modifications to multiplayer levels. Bungie began developing Halo 3 shortly after Halo 2 shipped. The game was officially announced at E3 2006, and its release was preceded by a multiplayer beta open to select players who purchased the Xbox 360 game Crackdown. Microsoft spent $40million on marketing the game, in an effort to sell more game consoles and broaden the appeal of the game beyond the established Halo fanbase. Marketing included cross-promotions and an alternate reality game. The game was released in September 2007. Halo 3 grossed US$170million on its first day of release, and $300million in its first week. To date, Halo 3 has sold in excess of 14.5 million copies. The game was also the best-selling video game of 2007 in the U.S. More than one million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first twenty hours. Overall, the game was very well received by critics, with the Forge and multiplayer offerings singled out as strong features; however, some reviewers criticized single-player aspects, especially the plot and campaign layout. Halo 3 is frequently listed as one of the greatest video games of all time. A prequel to the game, Halo 3: ODST, was released worldwide in September 2009. A sequel, Halo 4, released in November 2012, was developed by new studio 343 Industries. Halo 3 was re-released as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One in November 2014 and for Microsoft Windows in July 2020. Gameplay Halo 3 is a shooter game where players primarily experience gameplay from a first-person perspective. Much of the gameplay takes place on foot, but also includes segments focused