'' Halo 4 '' and '' Halo : Combat Evolved Anniversary '' were both officially announced on June 6 , 2011 , at the E3 2011 . '' Halo 4 '' is the first installment in the Reclaimer Saga of '' Halo '' games . The studio 's creative team , which included nearly 200 people led by creative director Josh Holmes , started developing the game as early as 2009 . Prior to the release of the game , Microsoft Studios Vice President Phil Spencer stated that the '' Halo '' franchise is the " most important entertainment product in the company " and that '' Halo 4 '' was the most expensive game that Microsoft had made . A demonstration of the game 's campaign was first shown at E3 2012 . The developers described it as a pivotal moment in development , as it was the first time the game had been shown publicly . The positive reaction was a morale boost for the team , who were unsure how the public would react . On July 7 , 2012 , a pre-release build of '' Halo 4 '' s Forge mode was showcased by 343 Industries and Certain Affinity at RTX which took place at the Austin Convention Center . On September 26 , 2012 , O'Connor announced that the game 's development was complete
E3 2012
E3 2012
Halo 4