Halo Week: Drop Shock Begins

Microsoft and 343 Industries today announced Halo Week: Drop Shock, a supply of new Halo 4 content, giveaway opportunities, promotional pricing, and DLC sales.

Here is an overview of the full lineup of content fans can look forward to this week:

Monday, April 8th – Castle Map Pack launches on Xbox Live

Developed by Certain Affinity in collaboration with 343 Industries, the Castle Map Pack brings players three medium-to-large maps that emphasize vehicular combat and large battles over open spaces.

Alongside the release of the Castle Map Pack, 343 Industries will introduce Competitive Skill Rank (CSR), a new 1-50 level ranking system which measures your performance in War Games, intelligently matches you against opponents of comparable skill, and displays your rank on your Halo Waypoint player profile. Starting April 8th at 2:00 a.m. PST and ending April 22nd at 2:00 a.m. PST, play the Castle Team DLC playlist and reach CSR level 35 or higher at any point on or between dates above, and receive an exclusive Avatar tee.

For the first time, the full campaign of Halo 3: ODST Campaign Edition will be available as a standalone digital download on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Wednesday, April 10th – Rank up Your Spartan with Extra XP Challenges

343 Industries will turn up the heat with new Extra XP challenges throughout Halo Week, allowing Spartans to rank up faster by playing online.

With 14 daily and six weekly challenges, players will have the opportunity for extra Experience Points by competing in any Halo 4 mode, be it War Games, Spartan Ops, or Campaign. These challenges were created specifically for Halo Week: Drop Shock, designed to reward more XP than standard challenges for players of all skill levels.

Thursday, April 11th – Spartan Ops Day with Giveaway Opportunity

What Halo Week would be complete without a day dedicated to Spartan Ops? Starting April 11th at 2:00 a.m. PST and ending April 12nd at 2:00 a.m. PST, play and complete any 5 missions of Spartan Ops and receive an exclusive Avatar tee.

Fans can also replay their favourite missions from Spartan Ops Season One as matchmaking for the entire season begins anew during Halo Week: Drop Shock, starting with the first episode.