Halo 2

Halo 2 is a first-person shooter developed by Bungie Studios for the Xbox. It is the sequel to the game Halo: Combat Evolved, and features a newly built graphics engine and the addition of new elements to the game. Like the Marathon series, the game will further develop the struggle between the human race and a religiously zealous and technologically superior foe (The Covenant from the first Halo). The release date of Halo 2 is currently set for November 9, 2004. This is one of the most highly anticipated games on the Xbox.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The "Haunted Apiary" ARG

The website is currently being used as a publicity site for Halo 2, with the site being pointed to by adverts for the game during movie trailers. Ostensibly a site about bees, the server appears to have been taken over by some mysterious force, which is "counting down to something".

The frontpage has a counter counting down to July 27 (when it says "network throttling will erode"), August 10 (when "this medium will metastasize"), and August 24 (at 8:06 am, when it will be "wide awake and physical") - many think something big will happen related to Halo 2 on these dates. Other messages relating to the Halo story are hidden throughout the site.

This style of publicity is similar to that which surrounded the movie A.I. which featured a grand Alternate Reality Game. The Halo ARG has been dubbed The Haunted Apiary.