Halo: ODST will be full-price release

Bungie and MS backtrack on pricing

When it was first announced, Halo expansion ODST was billed as a fancy expansion of Halo 3, Microsoft and Bungie hinting at pricing to fit in with this narrowed scope. Now, however, it emerges that Halo: ODST won't be going cheap after all.

"At the time of those statements, the overall scope of Halo 3: ODST was not yet finalized, and since then the project has grown increasingly more ambitious," the publisher told Joystiq.

"We believe this standalone experience is much more than just an expansion. Halo 3: ODST provides a new campaign from the point of view of an entirely new character.

"Combine that with three new multiplayer maps, the entirely new cooperative mode called Firefight, and the complete Halo 3 multiplayer collection on a standalone disc, we feel this is a good value and tremendous addition to the Halo franchise."

What are your thoughts, Halo fanatics?

By Luke Guttridge