how many alien vs predator films are there

Alien vs. Predator (also known as Aliens vs. Predator, abbreviated AVP and stylized as Î›VP) is a science fiction franchise created by comic book writers Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. The series is a crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises. The franchise, which depicts the two species as being in conflict with one another, includes various feature films, comics, novels, and video games. The two live-action films were both critically panned yet being relative box office successes, and the development of a third film has been rumoured.

Alien vs. Predator

The first Alien vs. Predator story was published by Dark Horse Comics in Dark Horse Presents #34–36 (November 1989 – February 1990). In November 1990, Predator 2 was released in theaters, and includes a scene depicting an Alien (Xenomorph) skull as one of the Predator's trophies. The first feature film was released in 2004, titled Alien vs. Predator. The second film in the series, titled Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, was released in 2007. Additionally, in the 2010 film Predators, when the group of main protagonists enters the Predators' camp, there is a brief view of an Alien skull on the ground (as well as the lower jaw of an Alien on the helmet of the Berserker Predator), referring to the similar moment from Predator 2 when an Alien skull is seen in the trophy room of the Predator spaceship. Ellen Ripley does not appear in this franchise, as it takes place years prior to the events of the Alien series.

In 2004, a Predator mothership arrives in Earth orbit to draw humans to an ancient Predator training ground on BouvetÃ¸ya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica. A buried pyramid giving off a "heat bloom" attracts a group of explorers led by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen), the original founder and CEO of Weyland Industries, who unknowingly activates an Alien egg production line as a hibernating Alien Queen is awakened within the pyramid. Three Predators descend unto the planet and enters the structure, killing all humans in their way with the intention of hunting the newly formed Aliens, while the scattered explorers are captured alive by Aliens and implanted with embryos. Two Predators die in the ensuing battle with an Alien, while the third allies itself with the lone surviving human, Alexa "Lex" Woods (Sanaa Lathan), while making their way out of the pyramid as it is destroyed by the Predator's wrist bomb and eventually does battle with the escaped Alien Queen on the surface. The Queen is defeated by being dragged down by a water tower into the dark depths of the frozen sea, but not before she fatally wounds the last Predator. The orbiting Predator mothership uncloaks and the crew retrieves the fallen Predator. A Predator elder gives Lex a spear as a sign of respect, and then departs. Once in orbit it is revealed that an Alien Chestburster was present within the corpse, thus a Predalien hybrid is born.

Set immediately after the events of the previous film, the Predalien hybrid aboard the Predator scout ship, having just separated from the mothership shown in the previous film, has grown to full adult size and sets about killing the Predators aboard the ship, causing it to crash in the small town of Gunnison, Colorado. The last surviving Predator activates a distress beacon containing a video recording of the Predalien, which is received by a veteran Predator on the Predator homeworld, who sets off towards Earth to "clean up" the infestation. When it arrives, the Predator tracks the Aliens into a section of the sewer below the town. He removes evidence of their presence as he moves along using a corrosive blue liquid and uses a laser net to try to contain the creatures, but the Aliens still manage to escape into the town above. The Predator fashions a plasma pistol from its remaining plasma caster and hunts Aliens all across town, accidentally cutting the power to the town in the process. During a confrontation with human survivors, the Predator loses its plasma pistol. The Predator then fights the Predalien singlehandedly, and the two mortally wound one another just as the US air force drops a tactical nuclear bomb on the town, incinerating both combatants along with the Predalien's warriors and hive, as well as the few remaining humans in the town. The salvaged plasma pistol is then taken to a Ms. Yutani of the Yutani Corporation.

The film features many references to both the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise, including: a dressing gown reminiscent of Ellen Ripley's one from Aliens is worn by the main female protagonist at one point in the film, the gravestone of Hawkins, Shane Black's character from Predator, is visible at one point in the film;[1] a character named "Dallas Howard" (after the character with the same name from Alien) says "Get to the chopper!"  at one point in the film, a line previously uttered by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Predator.[2]

Colin and Greg Strause were adamant that they wanted to develop Alien vs. Predator 3 during the production of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. They essentially sought to make an AVP-film in space and set in the future, but by the time they were hired, 20th Century Fox had already decided to go with Salerno’s script set on Earth. They incorporated elements of their ideas into the second film, such as the Predator home planet. ADI duo Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis were also contenders for the director’s chair. Having worked on the special effects in each movie since Aliens, Tom Woodruff revealed in April 2008 that he and Alec Gillis had aspirations to direct Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem themselves.[3][4]

In 2008, according to the horror news-website ShockTillYouDrop, “An anonymous source over at 20th Century Fox got in touch with us over the weekend to relay the news another Aliens vs. Predator sequel is a ‘certainty’ at this point. If you recall, the brothers Strause – who helmed the Christmas release Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem – stated Fox was going to take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to a third chapter, furthermore, that the story would have to continue in space.”[5][6][7]

On September 21, 2008, Collider published an exclusive interview with John Davis (the producer of both AVP films) and he stated, "I think we’ve logically done what we could’ve done with the two AVP movies. But I think there’s something to go back to with Predator."[8]

On October 28, 2010, io9 published an exclusive interview with the Strause-brothers in which they revealed that Alien vs. Predator 3 would have led directly into Alien. Greg Strause stated that, "The original ending for AVPR, that we pitched them, ended up on the alien homeward [sic], and actually going from the Predator gun, that you see at the end, it was going to transition from that gun to a logo of a Weyland-Yutani spaceship that was heading to an alien planet. And then we were actually going to cut down to the surface [of the alien planet] and you were going to see a hunt going on. It was going to be a whole tribe of predators going against this creature that we called "King Alien." It's this huge giant winged alien thing. And that was going to be the lead-in, to show that the fact that the Predator gun [at the end of AVPR] is the impetus of all the technological advancements that allowed humans to travel in space. Which leads up to the Alien timeline."

When asked about the ending sequence of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, that the Predator-weapon handed to Ms. Yutani would lead to us humans developing advanced space travel technology, Greg stated, "That was the idea. They never got any of the equipment from the first Predators. It's the first time they ever received any intact working technology left over. So they could take that and reverse engineer, figure out what the power source was – all of those things. And in theory, that would enable that company [Weyland-Yutani] to make massive advancements in technology and dominate the space industry. That was the whole idea, was to literally continue from Ms. Yutani getting the gun – and then cut to 50 years in the future, and there's spaceships now. We've made a quantum leap in space travel. That was going to set up the ending, which would then set up what AVP was going to be, which would take place 100 years in the future. That was kind of the plan."[9]

In 2012, What Culture stated that "surely sometime in the near future we will see a third attempt at an AvP movie" and listed five major reasons that would make a third sequel work â€“ namely the inclusion of Colonial Marines, a strong lead character, no Predators teaming-up with humans, memorable action sequences, as well as a great director.[10]

In 2015, having worked on the special effects of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, VFX make-up artist David Woodruff (the son of Tom Woodruff who worked on both the Alien- and Terminator-franchises) participated in an interview with TheTerminatorFans, and when asked about the situation of a third chapter in the AVP-trilogy, he stated, "I haven’t heard anything about a 3rd installment, not even rumors. This Neill Blomkamp project is the first possibility I’ve seen or heard of another Alien film and I’m all about it. I know the guys at Amalgamated Dynamics are pushing for something like this too. It’s time."[11]

In 2015, during the London Film and Comic Con, Sigourney Weaver stated that she asked to have Ripley killed in Alien 3 because she knew that Fox were moving forward with Alien vs. Predator.[12] Peter Briggs (writer of Alien vs. Predator) responded by praising all films in the franchise and pointing out that the AVP-films were more successful than Weaver's last two Alien-films, and noting that "There’s a terrific “Alien vs. Predator” movie still to be made by someone. It just hasn’t happened yet."[13]

In mid-2018, Shane Black, director of The Predator, tweeted his belief that a third Alien vs. Predator can still happen.[14] A ComicBookRumours.com article from July suggested Fox may attempt an "AvP Cinematic Universe" after Ridley Scott finishes making the Alien prequels, after which Fox considered a "soft reboot" to the Alien series with new/original characters, a new setting, and new timeline,[15][16] which the same article also suggested, if it were to happen, could potentially take place within the same continuity as the Predator films and AvP films, noting Predators featured an Alien skull cameo and The Predator underwent reshoots to have Lex's spear (along with other references) from the first AvP appear in the film at some point.[17]

PredatorJim ThomasJohn Thomas

A novel series was produced based on the franchise.

Other books depict the background to the film's work with Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI), the special effects company that worked on the Alien films.

An Alien vs. Predator arcade beat 'em up game was released by Capcom in 1994. Two other Alien vs Predator games were also published by Activision for the SNES and Game Boy in 1993. There were also several Alien vs. Predator mobile games, and two cancelled titles for the Atari Lynx and Game Boy Advance.

In 1994, Atari Corporation released the Rebellion Developments-developed first-person shooter Alien vs Predator for the Atari Jaguar, in which one could play as a Marine, Predator or Alien. Rebellion then went on to develop the similarly themed 1999's Aliens versus Predator for the PC. This was followed by, among others, Aliens versus Predator 2 and the expansion pack Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt. In 2010, Sega released a reboot, Aliens vs. Predator, a multiplatform first-person shooter also made by Rebellion.[29]

Both Alien and Predator appear as downloadable characters in Mortal Kombat X.

In 1994, Kenner released a collection of action figures known as Aliens vs. Predator. This followed the two initial series of Aliens that were based on an animated series, Operation: Aliens, that was never broadcast. As such, the inclusion of Predator is often considered the 3rd and 4th series of the Aliens line. This collection includes several Aliens, many of which feature built-in attack features, and Predators, which include removable masks and battle weapons such as spears and missile launchers. The figures generally possess 5 points of articulation, and some include a mini Dark Horse comic book.

While the collection as a whole is known as Aliens vs. Predator, the two character types have their own card art that only features the character at hand. An exception would be the Aliens vs. Predator 2-pack. Since human space marines were included in the initial Aliens line, the Predator was marketed as an alternative enemy to the Aliens. A figure cardback reads:

The Aliens: Hive Wars series was released in 1995, which included various Aliens, Predators, and larger scaled space marines. More figures, including a female Predator and an Alien/Predator/Smash Mason 3-pack, were designed for this series but never released as part of the line.

Six sets of Aliens and Predator Micro Machines were also planned by Galoob in 1995 but never released. This would have also included the LV-426/Outer World Station Action Fleet Playset. Thanks in part to the research of toy collectors, many photos of these unreleased toys and prototypes have shown up on the Web in recent years.[32]

In December 2002, McFarlane Toys released a highly detailed Alien vs. Predator deluxe set.[33] In 2004, they produced a series of figures based on the Alien vs. Predator film. Alongside the articulated figures, McFarlane also released statuesque display sets depicting scenes from the film.

Hot Toys produced highly detailed 16" tall figures for every film including Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007. That same year, NECA released two series of Requiem figures.[34]

On August 4, 2014, Universal Studios confirmed that there will be haunted mazes based on Alien vs. Predator for their Halloween Horror Nights events at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida.

In 2013 Prodos obtained the license from FOX to do a Boardgame and successfully funded it on Kickstarter.[35]
[36]


good morning america what time does it start

Good Morning America (GMA) is an American morning television show that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. The Sunday edition was canceled in 1999; weekend editions returned on both Saturdays and Sundays on September 4, 2004. The weekday program airs from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. in all U.S. time zones (live in the Eastern Time Zone and on tape delay elsewhere across the country). The Saturday and Sunday editions are one hour long and are transmitted to ABC's stations live at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, although stations in some markets air them at different times. Viewers in the Pacific Time Zone receive an updated feed with a specialized opening and updated live reports. A third hour of the weekday broadcast aired from 2007 to 2008, exclusively on ABC News Now.

Good Morning America

The program features news, interviews, weather forecasts, special-interest stories, and feature segments such as "Pop News" (featuring pop culture and entertainment news, and viral videos), the "GMA Heat Index" (featuring a mix of entertainment, lifestyle and human-interest stories) and "Play of the Day" (featuring a selected viral video or television program clip). It is produced by ABC News and broadcasts from the Times Square Studios in New York City's Times Square district. The primary anchors are Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Lara Spencer and Michael Strahan along with newsreader Amy Robach and weather anchor Ginger Zee.

Good Morning America has been the most watched morning show in total viewers and key demos each year since Summer 2012.[2] GMA generally placed second in the ratings, behind NBC's Today from 1995 to 2012.[3] It overtook its rival for a period from the early to mid-1980s with anchors David Hartman and Joan Lunden, from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s with Charles Gibson and Lunden, and in April 2012 with Roberts and Stephanopoulos.

Good Morning America won the first three Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Morning Program", sharing the inaugural 2007 award with Today and winning the 2008 and 2009 awards outright.

On January 6, 1975, ABC launched AM America in an attempt to compete with NBC's Today. The program was hosted by Bill Beutel and Stephanie Edwards,[4] with Peter Jennings and Robert Kennedy reading the news. Because the show could not find an audience against Today (and its anchor team of Jim Hartz and Barbara Walters), ABC sought a new approach. The network found that one of its affiliates, WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio, had been pre-empting AM America in favor of airing a locally produced show called The Morning Exchange.

Unlike AM America and Today, The Morning Exchange featured an easygoing and less dramatic approach by offering news and weather updates only at the top and bottom of every hour and used the rest of the time to discuss general-interest/entertainment topics. The Morning Exchange also established a group of regular guests who were experts in certain fields, including health, entertainment, consumer affairs and travel. Also unlike both the NBC and ABC shows, The Morning Exchange was not broadcast from a newsroom set but instead one that resembled a suburban living room.

In the process of screening the Cleveland morning program as a creative source, ABC also began looking at another local show, Good Morning!, which was produced by Boston ABC affiliate WCVB-TV. Good Morning! was very similar in format to The Morning Exchange, but with a lesser emphasis on news and weather. In fact, once the revamped ABC morning show took to the air late in 1975 under the title Good Morning America, WCVB station manager Bob Bennett accused ABC entertainment president Fred Silverman of deliberately stealing the title of Good Morning!; no legal cease and desist action was finalized against ABC in the matter, however. The launch of Good Morning America did result in the Boston morning show changing its nameâ€”to Good Day!.

ABC took an episode of The Morning Exchange and used it as a pilot episode. After very positive reviews for the pilot[citation needed], the format replaced AM America in November 1975 as Good Morning America. The first host of the new program was David Hartman, featuring Nancy Dussault as his co-host. Dussault was replaced in 1977 by Sandy Hill.[5] For the first seven years, weather forecasts were presented by John Coleman, former chief meteorologist for ABC owned-and-operated station WLS-TV in Chicago, who would leave GMA in 1982 to start The Weather Channel with Landmark Communications CEO Frank Batten. Dave Murray (now chief meteorologist at KTVI in St. Louis) provided the forecasts for both Good Morning America and ABC's early morning news program ABC News This Morning from 1983 to 1986. In August 1986, he was replaced by Spencer Christian, who worked at WABC-TV in New York City and served as fill-in meteorologist for both Coleman and Murray whenever they were away on vacation or assignment.[citation needed]

The program's ratings climbed slowly, but steadily throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s while Today experienced a slight slump in viewership, especially with Walters' decision to leave NBC for a job at ABC News. On August 30, 1976, Tom Brokaw began anchoring Today while the program began a search for a female co-host. Within a year, Today managed to beat back the Good Morning America ratings threat with Brokaw and new co-host Jane Pauley, featuring art and entertainment contributor Gene Shalit. Good Morning America continued to threaten Today's ratings dominance into the 1980s, especially after Brokaw left the latter program to become co-anchor of NBC Nightly News with Roger Mudd for 17 months before being named sole anchor of that program. For the first time, Good Morning America became the highest-rated morning news program in the United States as Today fell to second place.[citation needed]

At the outset, Good Morning America was a talk program with a main host, Hartman, who was joined by a sidekick co-host; Dussault and Hill were scripted as less-than-equal hosts. In 1980, an exasperated Hill left Good Morning America after run-ins with Hartman, who was said to have "had a problem with strong women." [6] She was replaced by Joan Lunden, then a reporter at ABC's New York City flagship station WABC-TV. Hartman and Lunden led the show through several years of success. Lunden's popularity led to her promotion to co-anchor in 1986, and to more equal footing with Hartman than any woman before her.[6] The partnership ended on February 20, 1987, when Hartman retired after 3,189 broadcasts.

After Hartman's departure, Lunden was paired with ABC News correspondent Charles Gibson on February 23, 1987, which ultimately resulted in ratings for the program skyrocketing. The team of Lunden and Gibson became the most popular news partnership on television in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and for the first time Good Morning America regularly won the ratings against Today. At one point prior to Spencer Christian's arrival in 1986, forecasts on the program were provided by WXYZ-TV chief meteorologist Jerry Hodak via a split screen between the WXYZ studios in Detroit and the Good Morning America set in New York City.

Good Morning America entered the 1990s with continued overwhelming ratings success. Gibson and Lunden became a hard team to beat; however, the program stumbled from its top spot in late 1995, falling to second place behind Today (in what would begin a 16-year streak as the top-rated morning news program for that show, which began the week of December 11, 1995[7]). Lunden began to discuss working less and mentioned to network executives that the morning schedule is the hardest in the business. ABC executives promised Lunden that a prime time program; Behind Closed Doors would premiere on the network in 1996.

On September 5, 1997, Lunden decided to step down as host of Good Morning America after 17 years and was replaced by ABC News correspondent Lisa McRee. The pairing of Gibson and McRee fared well in the ratings. However, ratings sharply declined when Gibson also left the show to make way for Kevin Newman on May 1, 1998. With McRee and Newman as anchors, longtime viewers of Good Morning America switched to Today, whose ratings skyrocketed.

To improve Good Morning America's ratings performance, which briefly fell to third place among the morning shows in January 1999, ABC News management selected Shelley Ross from the field of executive producer candidates. As part of RossÊ¼s proposed changes, Ross ousted the McRee-Newman team and lobbied to bring in Diane Sawyer and team her with Charles Gibson, who had been reluctant to return. On January 18, 1999, the Gibson-Sawyer team paired by Ross debuted on-air, which during the first full season resulted in a dramatic increase in viewership while all other network news franchises saw losses.

The show moved from the ABC News headquarters in Manhattan's Lincoln Square district to its present home at the Times Square Studios on September 13, 1999. The new location made it possible for the program to feature a live audience inside the studio, similar to the "Window on the World" set used by Today.[citation needed] Under Ross, Good Morning America became a competitive 24/7 news operation with more exclusive bookings, news and live stock market updates for West Coast viewers and new on-screen graphics that included a news ticker. Good Morning America began originating entire shows from unique locations, which, according to Nielsen Media Research, resulted in more people watching the program and for longer periods of time. GMA became the first to originate a live show from an aircraft carrier during wartime (the U.S.S. Enterprise), from The White House (after the Columbine shootings), from The Pentagon (for the reopening of the wing damaged during the September 11 attacks in 2001), from The Vatican (for the 25th anniversary of John Paul II's election as Pope), and from the Tower of London (on the 50th anniversary of Queen ElizabethÊ¼s accession to the throne). Viewership during this time increased by nearly 1 million households, and revenue soared.

Although Today remained the top-rated morning news show, the Sawyer, Gibson and Ross team inched close, creating a viable rival. According to Linda McLoof, executive director of news research at ABC News from 2001 to 2009, "When Shelley left, her viewing momentum was initially sustained, but a season later, the audience began to decline. It is like passing the baton in a relay race." Antonio Mora served as newsreader for the program until March 18, 2002, when he left to become an anchor at CBS owned-and-operated station WBBM-TV in Chicago. He was replaced by former ESPN anchor and correspondent Robin Roberts.

On May 23, 2005, ABC News announced that Robin Roberts would be promoted from newsreader to co-anchor of Good Morning America, joining Gibson and Sawyer. Roberts had previously served as a regular substitute for Gibson and Sawyer when either of them were on vacation or on assignment. On November 3, 2005, Good Morning America celebrated its 30th anniversary with retrospectives on and clips from the show's history and by decorating Times Square. Former co-hosts Hartman and Lunden, along with former meteorologist Spencer Christian, were among the guests of honor. Hartman signed off the show that day with his trademark close: "From all of us, make it a good day." That same day, Good Morning America became the first network morning news program to begin broadcasting in high definition.[citation needed]

On December 2, 2005, weather anchor Tony Perkins left the program after six years. The last ten minutes of that day's edition were dedicated to Perkins, during which he gave thanks to one of the show's producers and a heartfelt goodbye to anchors Gibson, Roberts and Sawyer. Perkins left the program to return to his family in Washington, D.C. and join Fox owned-and-operated station WTTG, where he previously served as a weather anchor. He affectionately said to his young son on-air, "Connor, if you're watching, daddy's comin' home." Perkins was replaced by Mike Barz, former weekday morning sports anchor at WGN-TV in Chicago.

Gibson left Good Morning America for the second time on June 28, 2006. That day's edition was dedicated to his 19 years as anchor of the program and celebrated his new role as anchor of ABC World News. Gibson ended his tenure at GMA by stating, "For nineteen years, my mornings have been not just goodâ€”they've been great."[8]

There had been speculation that Sawyer would leave Good Morning America when her contract expired in 2007 to assume the anchor position at ABC World News that was given to Gibson. In August 2006, Chris Cuomo was named news anchor while continuing his anchoring duties on the newsmagazine Primetime and serving as ABC News's senior legal correspondent. Meanwhile, Sam Champion, longtime evening meteorologist at WABC-TV, was named as the new weather anchor for the program and as weather editor for ABC News. Both Cuomo and Champion began their respective duties on the program on September 5, 2006, when Good Morning America instituted a new graphics package and new news area for Cuomo to report headlines. The following week, on September 13, 2006, the program introduced a new logoâ€”this time with gold Avant Garde font on a blue background, which bears a resemblance to the original Good Morning America logo that was used up to early 1987.

On June 29, 2007, the program's longtime film critic Joel Siegel died of complications from colon cancer at age 63. The July 9 edition of GMA was dedicated to Siegel, with former hosts Hartman, Hill, Lunden, Newman, Christian, Perkins and Gibson all appearing to share their memories. One month later, on July 31, 2007, Robin Roberts announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast during a self-examination while preparing the Siegel tribute episode. Roberts remained as anchor while undergoing chemotherapy and completed radiation treatments on March 28, 2008.

On October 22, 2007, Good Morning America introduced a new on-air graphics package. Using much of the design features of its former graphics, it went from a basic blue background to a more orangish-gold setting. The program's opening changed from the camera's zooming in on the hosts while introducing the host to an opening with new music (by the New York City-based music production company DreamArtists Studios) and a background with the Good Morning America logo descending onto the frame. It also changed its news ticker and time-and-temperature bug for the first time in years. The ticker featured an orange background with a modified ABC News logo as a breakpoint for each headline. The bug still featured the time and current local temperature to the left, but with an orange backdrop with an alternate "GMA" logo and the ABCNews.com logo to the right.[citation needed]

On January 15, 2008, during an interview with Diane Sawyer on the program, actress Diane Keaton commented on Sawyer's physical attractiveness, stating that if she had lips like Sawyer's, "then I wouldn't have worked on my [expletive] personality!" Keaton quickly apologized for the remark and Sawyer jokingly threatened to have her mother "work on your personality with soap in your mouth." Officials with the Federal Communications Commission declined to take action for the fleeting expletive.[9] Following the death of Michael Jackson, Charles Gibson returned to the Good Morning America anchor desk with Roberts on June 26, 2009, while Sawyer was away.

In September 2008, Good Morning America's anchors rode an Amtrak train to tour the United States as part of ABC News's "50 States in 50 Days" event, for which the program was broadcast from different locations around the U.S. each day throughout that month. The tour's first telecast stop was in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

On September 2, 2009, ABC announced that Sawyer would replace Gibson as anchor of ABC World News at the end of that year.[10] Speculation had abounded that either George Stephanopoulos, news anchor Chris Cuomo, weekend anchor Bill Weir, or World News Saturday anchor David Muir would replace Sawyer on the program. Representatives for ABC News stated that it wanted to return the show to the original male-female anchor format. On December 10, 2009, Stephanopoulos was announced as Sawyer's replacement, with Juju Chang replacing Cuomo as newsreader; the changes took effect four days later on December 14.[11]

In April 2010, the anchor desk in the studio was relocated back in front of the window overlooking Times Square, where it had been when Good Morning America moved to the Times Square Studios facility in 1999; the news desk was also moved in front of a window. On May 3, 2010, the program debuted new "light blue and sunny" graphics, and new theme music by DreamArtists Studios. An entirely new set for the program was introduced on January 31, 2011; the monitor used for national weather segments (used mainly during the 7:00Â a.m. hour only) was moved closer to the anchor desk while the news desk remained in the same place. This was the first major set change since the show upgraded to high definition in November 2005.[12]

On March 17, 2011, ABC News President Ben Sherwood announced that former GMA national correspondent Lara Spencer would be rejoining the program in a newly created lifestyle anchor position.[13] On March 29, 2011, ESPN anchor Josh Elliott was named news anchor of the program following the departure of Juju Chang.[14]

In the summer of 2011, Good Morning America decided to vacate the second floor of the Times Square studios, which overlooked Times Square, due to cost issues. On September 6, 2011, the program began broadcasting from an entirely new studio set located on the first floor (ground level) of the Times Square studios. The main "window" behind the presenters in the new set, which also shows a view overlooking Times Square from an above-ground level, is actually a back-projection, although there are several real windows used in other parts of the set.[15][16]

Amid declining ratings at Today in the aftermath of reports of Matt Lauer's alleged role in Ann Curry's departure as co-host (though ratings had been in a steady decline for that program during Curry's co-hosting tenure), viewership for Good Morning America increased starting in 2012. The program beat Today for the first time in 16 years during the week of April 9, 2012, ending that program's streak of 852 consecutive weeks as the most-watched network morning news program, by a margin of 31,000 more viewers than the NBC program.[17] Good Morning America beat Today once again during the week of April 16, 2012, by a much larger margin of 166,000 viewers.[18]

During the week of April 1, 2012, ABC News special correspondent Katie Couric, who had recently joined the network as part of a deal to host a syndicated talk show distributed by corporate sister Disney-ABC Domestic Television, filled for Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.[19] Couric had hosted the rival NBC morning program Today from 1991 to 2006; her Good Morning America stint marked her return to morning news after six years.

On August 30, 2012, Roberts went on medical leave after undergoing a bone marrow transplant (donated by her sister and fellow news anchor SallyAnn Roberts) following her diagnosis with myelodysplastic syndrome.[20] GMA correspondent Amy Robach and 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas served as the primary substitutes, typically alternating every other week. Others, including some celebrities, also served as special guest anchors during this time such as Kelly Ripa, Jessica Simpson, Barbara Walters and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. On January 14, 2013, Roberts announced that she hoped to return to the program sometime that February; Roberts performed dry run rehearsals during the week of January 21 in preparation for her return; she and her doctors evaluated her body's reaction to the makeup, the lighting, her hair, and the number of people she comes in contact with to avoid compromising her then-gradually-improving health. Roberts returned to Good Morning America part-time on February 20, 2013;[21] she announced in August 2013 that she would return to full-time hosting duties on September 3 of that year.[22]

In 2013, GMA won its first May sweeps ratings period in 18 years.[23] On December 4, 2013, weather anchor Sam Champion departed Good Morning America and ABC News after seven years on the program to join The Weather Channel, where he became primary anchor of the competing morning program America's Morning Headquarters (which debuted in March 2014). He was succeeded the following day by Ginger Zee, who had been serving as meteorologist for the weekend editions of GMA and was also appointed to Champion's former position as weather editor for ABC News.[24][25][26]

On March 30, 2014, news anchor Josh Elliott left ABC News after three years as news anchor of GMA to become a correspondent for NBC Sports, amid reports that contract negotiations to increase his annual salary (from $1.2 million to $8 million) broke down; Elliott was replaced as news anchor by Amy Robach later that week.[27][28] The program continued to dominate over the competition, even with the loss of two major co-hosts in Champion and Elliott.

In early April 2014, several media reports speculated that Michael Strahan would be joining GMA as a contributing anchor, while maintaining his co-host duties on Live! with Kelly and Michael (which is also syndicated by Disneyâ€“ABC Domestic Television). Strahan's new position was confirmed on April 15, 2014, when he was introduced to the audience as the new contributing anchor on the program.

On April 18, 2014, Lara Spencer was promoted to co-anchor effective immediately, receiving top billing on the program alongside Roberts and Stephanopoulos.[29]

In September 2014, former NFL player Tim Tebow was announced to be joining the program as a part-time correspondent to help launch the new segment, "Motivate Me Mondays". He made his debut on the program on September 15, 2014.[30]

On November 19, 2015, the program celebrated its 40th anniversary, with all the main anchors and most of the news and weather anchors returning to join the celebration and share their stories. Clips from all 40 years were shown.

On April 19, Strahan announced that he would be leaving Live! with Kelly and Michael to join Good Morning America full-time.[31]

On September 6, 2016, Michael Strahan began his run as official full-time co-host of the program along with Roberts, Stephanopoulos, and Spencer. A new title sequence was debuted not including Spencer's name. The first hour focuses on the news of the morning anchored by Roberts, Stephanopulos, and Strahan. Zee does segments of the weather and Robach reads the morning headlines. The second hour is in the second floor studio and is taped in front of a live studio audience. It focuses on "soft news" and entertainment. It is anchored by the four main co-anchors and features guests and talk show panel discussion.

A special summer afternoon edition of Good Morning America, titled Good Afternoon America, premiered on July 9, 2012, as a temporary replacement for the canceled talk/lifestyle show The Revolution in the 2:00Â p.m. Eastern Time weekday slot.

Good Afternoon America was taped immediately after the morning program and focused on lighter fare, with the exception of the July 20 edition, which provided live coverage of the Aurora Century 16 theater shooting. Like its morning counterpart, Good Afternoon America originated from Times Square Studios.[32] The limited-run program, which ended on September 7, 2012, was hosted by then Good Morning America news anchor Josh Elliott and lifestyle anchor Lara Spencer.[33]

GMA Wake Up Call is a pre-morning show hosted by Ginger Zee. Substitute hosts include Rob Marciano. This spin-off is a lead in to the actual GMA program airing live stream on social media outlets. The show airs between 6:45 and 6:50am ET and runs for 10â€“15 minutes.

GMA Lunch Break is a half-hour afternoon show airing on social media outlets between Noon and 1pm also hosted by Zee. This focuses on a featured lunch recipe.

GMA Deals airs on social media outlets on select days at 8:30am. Hosted by Zee and Tory Johnson, this focuses on deals and steals.

Robin Roberts
co-anchor; 2002â€“

George Stephanopoulos
co-anchor; 2009â€“

Lara Spencer
co-anchor; 2013â€“

Michael Strahan
co-anchor; 2016â€“

Amy Robach
news anchor; 2014â€“

Ginger Zee
chief meteorologist; 2013â€“

The first weekend edition of Good Morning America premiered on January 3, 1993, airing only on Sundays; it was hosted at various points by Willow Bay, Aaron Brown, John Hockenberry, Dana King, Lisa McRee, Antonio Mora, Kevin Newman and Bill Ritter. The program was cancelled on February 28, 1999.

In August 2010, Bill Weir left the weekend edition to become co-anchor of Nightline; Marysol Castro left the show the following month. While Dan Harris officially took over as Weir's replacement that October, meteorologists from various ABC affiliates across the country filled in to provide the national weather segments for over a year after Castro's departure; eventually in November 2011, Ginger Zee, who previously served as a meteorologist at NBC O&O WMAQ-TV in Chicago, was appointed as weather anchor for the weekend editions.[36] After Zee was promoted to weather anchor of the weekday edition of Good Morning America in December 2013, the program returned to having ABC affiliate meteorologists to substitute on the Saturday and Sunday editions, until ABC announced the appointment of Rob Marciano (a former CNN meteorologist who had recently departed as co-host of Entertainment Tonight) as full-time weekend weather anchor in July 2014, effective that September.[37]

In July 2014, Bianna Golodryga announced she would be leaving ABC to take a correspondent role at Yahoo News. Paula Faris (who previously substituted for Golodryga in the spring of 2012, while she was on maternity leave) was named as Golodryga's replacement as weekend co-anchor.[38]

Most weeks, the GMA Weekend shows originate from the main ABC News set at the ABC Television Center in Manhattan's Lincoln Square neighborhood rather than Times Square Studios; the set's large rear-projection screen is used to project the Times Square background seen in the background of the weekday GMA to provide continuity. Previously the weekend edition of "GMA" was also aired from the Times Square Studio but was moved to the ABC News set to cut costs.

On September 10, 2016, Sara Haines left the program as lifestyle anchor to take a full-time position as co-host of ABC's The View.

In Australia, Nine Network broadcasts Good Morning America on its stations in metropolitan areas, and regional affiliates SC9 and NBN, on a one-day delay (by way of Australia and the United States being on different ends of the International Date Line) each Tuesday through Friday from 3.30 to 5:00, Saturdays from 4.30 to 6:00 and Monday mornings from 4:00 to 5:00Â a.m. (Nine does not air the Saturday edition of the program). The Nine broadcasts features a map providing forecasts for Australia in place of national U.S. weather map (which itself is also, in a separate feature within the main weather segment, used as a cutaway to weather updates provided by local ABC affiliates). Although it airs at the same time as Seven Network and Network Ten's broadcasts of NBC's Today and CBS This Morning, Good Morning America's broadcasts by Nine is unchallenged ratings-wise in some regions where other affiliates preempt their networks' U.S. breakfast programs with paid and religious programming.

OSN airs Good Morning America on OSN First HD live each weekday at 5:00 UAE / 4:00 KSA in the Middle East and North Africa Countries.[39]

In 1992 and 1993, Good Morning America won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk/Service Show. In 2010, the program was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding TV Journalism Segment" for the segment "Total Transformation: Why Chaz Bono Decided to Change".[40]


what is z a n u p f

The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) has been the ruling party in Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years under Robert Mugabe, first as Prime Minister with the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and then as President from 1987 after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and retaining the name ZANU–PF, until 2017 when he was removed as leader.

ZANU–PF

At the 2008 parliamentary election, the ZANU–PF lost sole control of parliament for the first time in party history and brokered a difficult power-sharing deal with the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC), but subsequently won the 2013 election and gained a two-thirds majority.

On 19 November 2017, ZANU-PF sacked Robert Mugabe as party leader, who resigned two days later, and appointed former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place.[4]

ZANU was founded by Ndabaningi Sithole, Henry Hamadziripi, Mukudzei Midzi, Herbert Chitepo, Edgar Tekere, and Leopold Takawira at the house of former Defence Minister Enos Nkala in Highfield in August 1963.[5]

The Patriotic Front (PF) was formed as a political and military alliance between ZAPU and ZANU during the war against white minority rule in Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe). The PF included the Soviet Union-backed ZAPU, which was led by Joshua Nkomo and operated mainly from Zambia, and the Chinese-backed ZANU led by Robert Mugabe, which operated mainly from neighbouring Mozambique. Both movements contributed to their respective military forces. ZAPU's military wing was known as the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) and ZANU's guerrillas were known as the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. The objective of the PF was to overthrow the predominantly white minority government, headed by the Prime Minister Ian Smith, through political pressure and military force.[6]

Their common goal was achieved in 1980, following the Lancaster House Agreement of December 1979, when the United Kingdom granted independence to Zimbabwe following a brief period of direct British control. During the 1980 general election campaign, the PF parties competed separately as ZANU–Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) and Patriotic Front–ZAPU (PF–ZAPU). The election was won by Mugabe and ZANU–PF, with Nkomo and his PF–ZAPU retaining a stronghold in the provinces of Matabeleland.[6]

In December 1981, agents of South Africa's apartheid government bombed party headquarters, nearly killing many senior ZANUâ€“PF leaders, including Robert Mugabe.[7]

In December 1987, after five years of the low-level civil war known as Gukurahundi, the opposition ZAPU, led by Nkomo, was absorbed through the Unity Accord with ZANU to form an official ZANUâ€“PF.[8]

From 1999-2017, Mugabe faced a major political challenge from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Mugabe won 56% at the presidential elections of 9â€“11 March 2002.

At the December 2004 five-year conference, Joice Mujuru, a Zezuru Shona like Mugabe, and whose late-husband Solomon Mujuru was the retired head of the armed forces, was elevated to the post of Vice President of the party (the first woman to hold that office) at the expense of contender Emmerson Mnangagwa and his supporters; Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Information Minister Jonathan Moyo.[9]

The 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections were held on 31 March 2005. The party won 59.6% of the popular vote and 78 out of 120 elected seats. Later that year, 26 November, it won 43 of 50 elected senators. The parliamentary election was disputed as being unfair. The leader of the opposition MDC party said, "We are deeply disturbed by the fraudulent activities we have unearthed", and various human rights groups reported that hundreds of thousands of "ghost voters" had appeared on the electoral roll of 5.8 million people.[10]

At the 2008 parliamentary election, the ZANUâ€“PF lost its majority in parliament for the first time since independence, and held 94 seats out of the expanded 210 seats, with Sokwanele stating that this figure would have been lower had it not been for gerrymandering, electoral fraud, and widespread intimidation.[11]

At the 2008 presidential election, Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC candidate, received the most votes, but did not gain an absolute majority; thus a runoff was necessary. Initial results led to MDC-T claiming the required majority. However, ballots were recounted at a National Command Centre over a period of over a month without the presence of independent observers. The election process that followed was marred by more violence against and intimidation of voters and party workers. Morgan Tsvangirai initially stated he intended to contest the second round but pulled out of the runoff saying a free and fair election was impossible in the current climate. The elections were held on 27 June with a single candidate, Robert Mugabe, who was re-elected.

Many blame ZANUâ€“PF for neglecting to deal with Zimbabwe's problem with the mounting 2008 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak, which by the start of December 2008 had already killed between 500 and 3,000 people.[12]

Former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki facilitated, under the auspices of Southern African Development Community (SADC), a Zimbabwean Government of Power-Sharing between ZANU–PF, the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change – Mutambara.

In November 2008, a group of former ZAPU members, most of them hailing from Bulawayo in Matabeleland, left ZANUâ€“PF and re-established the ZAPU party stating five motives:

In 2014, a battle between Vice President Joice Mujuru and Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, and possibly First Lady Grace Mugabe, began over the succession to President Robert Mugabe. An elective congress was scheduled for December 2014, in which ZANUâ€“PF would elect members to fill vacancies in the central committee, politburo, and presidium, and most likely endorse the party's next candidate for president. This congress, which takes place every five years, is the most important elective organ for the party.

Although President Mugabe had not named a successor, Joice Mujuru was seen by many as the most likely candidate. She had support from both the politburo and the population at large (demonstrated by the election of her loyalists to the youth league).[14] Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa was supported by a smaller group composed mainly of senior members of the security establishment, part of ZANUâ€“PF's parliamentary caucus, younger party members, and a few influential parts of the Zimbabwean business community. He had been with Mugabe since Zimbabwe gained independence and was regarded by many as a successor who could maintain stability after Mugabe eventually left office.[15]

Mujuru lost the succession battle with Mnangagwa after being expelled from the party in 2015[16] a new power struggle began between Mnangagwa's faction (known as Team Lacoste) and Grace Mugabe's faction (known as Generation 40Â or G40) which had become violent by 2017.[17] Emmerson Mnangagwa was demoted from Minister of Justice following a cabinet reshuffle, soon after he publicly claimed that he was poisoned, in early-October 2017. On 15 November 2017, a military coup in Zimbabwe resulted in President Robert Mugabe being placed under house arrest and led to speculation over whether Grace Mugabe or Emmerson Mnangagwa would succeed him as leader of the party. Following the 2017 Zimbabwe coup, ZANU-PF voted to depose Robert Mugabe as party leader and install the banished Emmerson Mnangagwa as leader instead. Before the Zimbabwean parliament could vote to impeach Mugabe, he resigned from the presidency on 21 November 2017.[18] Mnangagwa was sworn in as the new President of the Republic of Zimbabwe on 24 November 2017.[19]

Officially, ZANU–PF has a socially democratic ideology. The party maintains a Politburo and a Central Committee.[20] However, the party's ideology may be changing as Mnangagwa said that "all foreign investments will be safe in Zimbabwe" and calls for "increased production and capacity and new investment in the country."[21][22]

Mugabe pursued a more left-wing populist policy on the issue of land redistribution in 2000s, encouraging seizure of commercial farms—usually owned by Zimbabwe's white minority—"for the benefit of landless black peasants."[23] The inauguration speech of President Mnangagwa threw this program's support into question since he said that the "government is committed to work on a compensation plan for former land owners."[21] The compulsory acquisition of commercial farmland without compensation was discontinued in early 2018.[24]


halo wars 2 when does it take place

Halo Wars 2 is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game developed by 343 Industries and Creative Assembly. It was published by Microsoft Studios and released in February 2017 on Windows and Xbox One. The game is set in the science fiction universe of the Halo franchise in 2559. It is a sequel to Halo Wars (2009) and takes place shortly after the events of Halo 5: Guardians (2015). The story follows a human crew that is part of a military organization, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC). The crew's starship arrives at the Ark, a Forerunner installation responsible for constructing and remotely controlling the titular Halo rings. On the Ark, they encounter a mercenary alien faction known as the Banished, and a war ensues.

Halo Wars 2

In Halo Wars 2, players construct a base of operations, accumulate resources to deploy infantry and vehicle units, and command their armies from a bird's-eye view of the battlefield. The primary goal during a battle is typically to destroy an opponent's bases or to capture and control territories on the battlefield. Combat is balanced by a "rock–paper–scissors" counter-attack system, in which ground vehicles are effective in combat against infantry, infantry are effective against aircraft, and aircraft are effective against ground vehicles. The game supports online multiplayer for playing cooperatively or competitively with other players.

Development of Halo Wars 2 began in 2014 when Halo franchise developer 343 Industries approached British development studio Creative Assembly about collaborating on the game. Creative Assembly were chosen for their years of experience in developing RTS games. 343 Industries wanted to integrate the story of Halo Wars 2 more closely with the ongoing storyline of the Halo series. This led them to set the game 28 years after the original Halo Wars so they could fit it in the current timeline of the main story arc. The game was announced in 2015 at Gamescom and showcased at a number of video gaming conventions before release. Two open betas ran during the final year of the game's production so the development team could make adjustments to the game based on feedback from players.

Halo Wars 2 received generally positive reviews. The campaign cinematics, created by Blur Studio, were lauded for their outstanding animation quality. Reviewers thought the game was very approachable for beginners but felt it needed more strategic depth to gain popularity among experienced RTS players. Several nuisances in the keyboard and mouse controls left some critics disappointed; but enhancements made to the gamepad control scheme from the first Halo Wars were praised. Cross-platform play was enabled after release and the game was supported with additional content such as a campaign expansion, Awakening the Nightmare.

Halo Wars 2 is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game, in which players command armies from a bird's-eye view of the battlefield.[1][2] It can be played using a gamepad or using a mouse and keyboard.[2] Like its predecessor Halo Wars, it features two playable factions: humanity's military arm, the United Nations Space Command, and an alien faction, the Banished.[3][4] In most game modes, players establish a base of operations at a predetermined location.[2] Barracks and vehicle depots can be constructed at a base to deploy infantry and vehicles for combat. Supplies are gathered on the battlefield or collected via a supply pad building; they are expended to deploy units and construct buildings. Some units and buildings require a second resourceâ€”power, which is produced using a generator or extractor building. Base buildings can be upgraded to grant passive bonuses and unlock access to higher tier units.[5]

Initially, the battlefield is shrouded by a fog of war, which is uncovered by moving units to clouded regions of the map. Units can be selected and commanded to engage in combat or interact with structures on the battlefield.[5] Combat is balanced by a "rock–paper–scissors" counter-attack system, in which ground vehicles are effective in combat against infantry, infantry are effective against aircraft, and aircraft are effective against ground vehicles.[6] In addition to their primary attacks, every unit has at least one special ability. For example, Spartan supersoldiers are capable of hijacking vehicles and performing a smash attack after leaping into the air.[7] Players can build additional bases once they have accumulated enough resources and gained control over areas of the map, allowing them to expand their army.[5]

A campaign mode lets players take control of UNSC forces in battles against the Banished on an ancient alien structure.[1][3] The main campaign consists of twelve missions and can be played alone or cooperatively.[2][8] Each mission presents main objectives that involve capturing points, defending bases, or surviving waves of enemies,[1] and often require players to lead Spartan units around the map. Campaign missions offer optional side objectives such as ensuring a certain unit survives over the course of the mission or destroying extra bases within a time limit.[2] Animated cutscenes and dialogue precede each mission to provide context and integration with the game's story.[1] A secondary campaign lets players control Banished forces in a battle against parasitic alien life forms known collectively as the Flood.[9]

Outside the campaign, both the UNSC and the Banished are playable; each faction has a distinct set of units.[2] Players choose a leader that is based on a prominent character and emphasizes a particular style of play.[1][2][3][5] Leaders have unique abilities that can be upgraded and activated during a battle; using one requires supplies and triggers a cooldown period before it is available again.[2][5][7] Healing groups of units, carpet bombing a targeted area, and deploying special troops are examples of some leader abilities.[7] The game's multiplayer modes support online play with up to six players.[10] Skirmish is a cooperative or solo play mode against computer-controlled (AI) opponents.[11] Deathmatch involves eliminating the opponent's army.[10] Stronghold and Domination are territorial modes centered around controlling bases or nodes on the map.[2] Blitz mode combines elements from collectible card games with RTS gameplay by replacing base building and resource management with a card-and-deck mechanic for unit deployment.[12][13] Decks are created from card packs earned through the campaign mode and daily challenges. Each card features a deployable unit and has an energy cost; deploying a more powerful unit uses more energy.[12][11] Energy generates automatically throughout a match and more can be collected from pods dropped onto the map periodically.[11] Blitz Firefight is a single-player and cooperative variant which pits players against waves of AI enemies.[2]

Halo Wars 2 takes place in the science fiction universe of the Halo series. The game is set in 2559, 28Â years after the events of Halo Wars and shortly after the events of Halo 5: Guardians.[14] Halo Wars closes with the crew of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire entering cryosleep and drifting in space. Since then, the war between humanity and the alien alliance known as the Covenant has ended, and Spirit of Fire has been declared lost with all hands.[4] While Spirit of Fire is adrift in space, the ship's artificial intelligence (AI) Serina (Courtenay Taylor) terminates herself before succumbing to rampancy, a terminal state.[14][15] Captain James Cutter (Gideon Emery), Professor Anders (Faye Kingslee),[8] and the rest of the crew wake from cryosleep at the Ark, a Forerunner installation capable of manufacturing large ringworlds known as Halos.[4][16] Isabel (Erika Soto) is a UNSC logistics AI operating at a research facility on the Ark when an alien faction called the Banished invades.[17] The Banished are led by the Brute warlord Atriox (John DiMaggio) and rose to power following the Covenant's demise.[15][4] Serving under Atriox are the Brute general Decimus and the Elite Shipmaster Let 'Volir (Darin De Paul).[18][15]

Spirit of Fire's crew awakens from cryosleep at the Ark and receives a UNSC signal from the surface of the installation. Spartan Red Team is deployed to investigate the signal. They recover Isabel from a base but during the exfiltration Spartan Douglas-042 is injured in an engagement with Atriox and Spartan Alice-130 is left stranded on the Ark. Back on Spirit of Fire, Isabel reveals to Captain Cutter how Atriox and the Banished invaded the Ark, which leads Cutter to declare war on them. A strike team manages to set up a forward base and defeat Decimus, who is salvaging the Ark's resources. Decimus escapes and orders a bombardment on his own base. In the wreckage, Isabel discovers information about the Cartographer, a map of key systems and weapons on the Ark. The strike team secures a Forerunner elevator and ascends to the Cartographer.

Meanwhile, Alice-130 contacts Spirit of Fire and escapes the Ark with recovered UNSC prisoners. The strike team and Anders reach the Cartographer's map room despite being attacked by autonomous machines (Sentinels) that maintain the Ark. Anders discovers that Atriox has hijacked the Ark's portal network, allowing him to transport troops across the whole structure. While trying to shut down the portal network, the strike team face Decimus again and defeat him for the second and final time. Spirit of Fire then comes under attack from a Banished carrier ship. Anders suggests they create a Halo ring using the Ark's protocols to transport the crew away from the Ark and back into UNSC-controlled space. The attacking carrier is destroyed when Isabel and Spartan Jerome-092 hijack its weapon systems to prompt the Sentinels stationed on the Ark to shatter it in two.

The new Halo is released but UNSC forces face immediate resistance from the Banished. On the Ark, Alice-130 and Douglas-042 prevent many Banished reinforcements, including Atriox, from getting to the Halo before using the portal network to reach it themselves. Anders is escorted to the ring's control room where the firing system of the structure is deactivated and a signal beacon is set. Anders uses the gravity controls for the Halo to raise the land below the remaining Banished forces into space where it disintegrates. The ground forces return to Spirit of Fire but Anders and the Halo enter slipspace as they cannot halt the jump's countdown. Before the Halo jumps, Anders promises to get help from the UNSC as soon as possible. On the Ark, Atriox and a legion of Banished are still live, preparing for the next fight against the UNSC. Meanwhile, the Halo carrying Anders drops out of slipspace prematurely, only to encounter a Foreunner Guardian.

In 2009, Microsoft Studios launched Halo Wars, a real-time strategy spin-off from the first-person shooter series Halo. It was developed by Microsoft subsidiary Ensemble Studios.[19] While Halo Wars was a commercial success,[10] Ensemble Studios was shut down after development.[19] Before its closure, the studio had started planning a story for a sequel. According to Halo Wars lead writer Graeme Devine, this script explored the history of the Forerunners and involved Spirit of Fire arriving at a Forerunner station tracked by Anders.[20] In 2007, Microsoft formed an internal division, 343 Industries, to develop Halo products,[21] and the studio searched for a developer to partner on a Halo Wars sequel.[22] They viewed working with other developers and using external experience as key to maintaining quality across their projects.[21]

In 2014, 343 Industries began developing Halo Wars 2 after approaching UK-based developer Creative Assembly.[3][19][23][24] Creative Assembly was chosen because of their reputation in developing real-time strategy games such as Total War.[19][22] The studio had considered creating an RTS for console and PC for a long time, so the prospect of working on Halo Wars 2 was viewed as a perfect opportunity.[6] The Halo Wars 2 development team within Creative Assembly was composed of people who worked on Alien: Isolation (2014), the Total War series, and new employees hired for the project.[25] While Creative Assembly is a PC-centric developer, staff from the Alien: Isolation team were able to provide experience in producing games for consoles.[26] On January 18, 2017, the development team announced that the game had "gone gold".[27]

Creative Assembly's studio director Tim Heaton said the gameplay of Halo Wars 2 would not be similar to their Total War series. Their approach was to build upon the foundation established with Halo Wars.[26] With Halo Wars 2, the development team hoped to introduce new players to the strategy game genre while appeasing experienced gamers by including a range of multiplayer modes that a wide spectrum of players could enjoy. They also wanted to extend the purpose of leader units and their abilities by giving each of them a more defining role in the style of play they represent.[3] Creative Assembly thought the game needed more artillery units capable of performing long range attacks, however there were currently no suitable vehicles in the Halo universe. So they created two new vehicles for the role and checked they did not feel out of place using reference material supplied by 343 Industries.[28] Creative director Alistair Hope viewed staying true to the source material as an important factor for all of Creative Assembly's games, but stated that the team were given more freedom to explore and expand the Halo universe than they had anticipated.[25] Hope praised the control scheme used in Halo Wars and aimed to enhance the system by ensuring Halo Wars 2 would be intuitive to play on a console.[3] One common control feature included in many PC RTS games but absent from the original Halo Wars is control groups, which lets sets of units be manually assigned to a key.[29][28] As Halo Wars 2 was developed for console and PC, the designers were keen to include the feature for both versions of the game.[29] 343 Industries had initially considered supporting cross-platform play between Windows and Xbox One devices but the feature was ultimately excluded from the game at launch.[23]

The Blitz game mode resulted from experimenting with ideas for a fast-paced and accessible variation of RTS gameplay. The development team wanted to streamline mechanics, such as base building and resource management, which players typically viewed as being complex and intimidating. The initial design of Blitz involved players having an army roster, like in tabletop war games. After playtesting this version, they realized that the scale of battles would shrink and become less appealing over the course of the match. They revised the mode by implementing a card-and-deck system for unit deployment and introducing randomly spawning resources on the maps.[13] Blitz was influenced by the Warzone game mode from Halo 5: Guardians and Blizzard Entertainment's collectible card game Hearthstone, taking design cues from the card collecting and deck building systems.[6] 343 Industries' head of strategy games Dan Ayoub cited multiplayer online battle arena games as impactful on the design of Blitz, since they replaced resource management with individual unit combat.[3]

Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor explained that Halo Wars 2 would be more integrated with other fiction in the universe than its predecessor. The story of the first Halo Wars is set 20 years before Halo: Combat Evolved and is largely isolated from other games within the series. This was to prevent it from interfering with other projects (Halo 3 and Halo: Reach) that were also in development at the time.[4] Consequently, Halo Wars 2 is set in the contemporary fictional timeline following the events of Halo 5: Guardians,[30] and is said to have a "sense of scale" that the first game was missing.[4] This decision also opened a narrative thread in Halo Wars 2, in which the returning characters are placed in an unfamiliar universe with outdated technology.[30] Narrative director Kevin Grace said they took most of their inspiration for the game's tone from Halo: Combat Evolved.[17][4]

The narrative team wanted to establish a new villain who was both powerful and intelligent, which led to the introduction of the Brute warlord Atriox.[16] Grace cited the Arbiter as a great example of a character who was unique within his species; he noted that this trait was applied to the Brutes with the creation of Atriox.[31] To subvert the notion that Brutes are just the "dumb muscle" of the Covenant, they wanted to present him as a smart commander who takes advantage of the alliance's collapse.[4][12][31] Inspiration for the character was drawn from folklore legends such as Excalibur and stories of an underling rising to power.[12][31] While the Banished have been referenced in previous Halo media, Halo Wars 2 marks their debut as the primary enemy faction.[4] Real-world events and historical mercenary groups were a creative source for designing the Banished.[31] From the beginning, Isabel was designed to exhibit flawed behavior to distinguish her from other AI characters in the series. Ellen Ripley in the 1986 film Aliens was a particular influence for her characterization.[32]

Art director Jeremy Cook thought maintaining readability and clarity of the units and combat space was the highest priority of the game's art direction. He also wanted to make sure the visual style remained consistent with the Halo universe, by preserving the recognizable traits of the units and structures. The Banished's art style was designed to contrast visually with the UNSC. Cook wanted the Banished to be reminiscent of the Covenant but with a greater emphasis on the aesthetic of the Brute species.[33] Existing Brute vehicles and weapons helped influence the design changes and creation of new technology in the Banished's arsenal.[34]

The in-game cutscenes for Halo Wars 2 were created by animation company Blur Studio;[10] they previously created cutscenes for some Halo games, including the original Halo Wars.[35] The scenes were directed by Dave Wilson, who was the visual effects supervisor on the Halo Wars cutscenes.[17] 343 Industries explained that alterations to the appearance of returning characters were a result of upgraded technology, the use of performance capture, and casting new actors.[8] Wilson said advances in technology allowed the animation team to capture body motion, facial motion, and audio simultaneously for Halo Wars 2, unlike during the development of Halo Wars where each of these performances was recorded separately and later combined.[36]

Two open multiplayer betas ran during the production of Halo Wars 2 so the development team could gather data and make adjustments based on community feedback.[37][38] The first ran on Xbox One from June 13–23, 2016,[39] and included the Deathmatch and Domination game modes.[10] A second beta featuring the Blitz mode ran from January 20–30, 2017, on Windows and Xbox One.[37] Players earned rewards for Halo 5: Guardians for participating in the first beta and Blitz card packs for participating in the second beta.[10][37] Changes made to game following the betas included resolving connectivity issues, tuning the gameplay, and adjusting the control scheme and user interface.[38][40]

Paul Lipson served as audio director on Halo Wars 2. The game's soundtrack was composed by Gordy Haab, Brian Lee White and Brian Trifon.[41] White and Trifon had collaborated with Lipson on the music of previous Halo projects, such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection and the Halo Channel application.[41][42] The composers analyzed design documents, artwork, and early versions of the game to learn about the story and motivations of characters. This research helped them to determine the emotional tone and instrumental choices for the music. They wanted to incorporate the customary components of Halo scores such as the use of a large orchestra, a choir, and electronic music, while also taking the music in a new direction.[41] As Halo Wars 2 was considered a spin-off to the core Halo games, the composers were not as beholden to Martin O'Donnell's established sound of the series. This gave them the opportunity to experiment with the soundtrack and introduce elements like brass instruments to the music.[42]

The opening track of Halo Wars 2's soundtrack, "Recommissioned", is an adaption of the "Spirit of Fire" theme from the original Halo Wars soundtrack. The composers wanted to put their own style on this existing theme.[43] Specific melodies were written for each of the game's main characters to reflect their personalities.[41][42] For example, the track "Run Little Demons" made use of tribal drums, electronic percussion, and heavy brass to capture the dread and terror induced by Atriox and the Banished.[42] To generate an array of emotional effects, different instruments were used to create variations of the character themes.[41] One goal was to have the music dynamically interact with dialogue and gameplay.[42] The composers created music of different intensity levels to correspond with the player's actions in the game. For example, low intensity, ambient music would play during base construction and more percussive, thematic music would play during battles. A system was designed to adapt the score based on events occurring during gameplay and to prevent the music from becoming repetitive.[41] The composers worked closely with Lipson and Creative Assembly's audio lead, Sam Cooper, on the implementation of the interactive audio.[43] The live orchestra was recorded at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox's studio in Los Angeles.[42] The Halo Wars 2 Original Game Soundtrack, featuring 21 tracks, was released in retail stores on February 17, 2017, and digitally on February 21, 2017.[44]

At Gamescom in August 2015, Microsoft Studios announced Halo Wars 2 for Windows PCs and the Xbox One video game console.[19] Trailers featuring cinematics from the game were released from the announcement of the game up to its launch. The announcement trailer at Gamescom 2015 showed an injured UNSC soldier being dragged away and Atriox taunting.[45] The trailer shown at E3 2016 was created by Blur Studio,[33] and depicted the leaders of both factions—Cutter and Atriox—facing off as their forces are engaged in conflict.[4][33] At RTX 2016, 343 Industries revealed a teaser of the in-game cinematics, illustrating Spirit of Fire's arrival at the Ark and Spartan supersoldiers encountering the Banished.[46][47] At The Game Awards 2016, a trailer focusing on Atriox's background and motives was presented.[31] On February 9, 2017, Microsoft released two live action trailers showing Cutter and Atriox confronting each other in comedic real-life scenarios.[48] Multiplayer modes from the game were available to play at a number of video gaming conventions and expos including E3,[10] RTX,[49] Gamescom,[50] and Paris Games Week.[51] 343 Industries and toy maker Mattel announced a partnership to create a new line of Halo toys based on Halo Wars 2.[52][53] In August 2017, Dark Horse Comics published the first issue of Halo: Rise of Atriox, a five-chapter comic book limited series about the games' primary antagonist.[54][55]

Halo Wars 2 was initially scheduled to be released for Windows and Xbox One in 2016,[19] however it was delayed until February 21, 2017.[56] It is the first Halo game to launch simultaneously on console and PC.[6] The game was released as part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program which allows a digital purchase to be playable on both Windows and Xbox One.[8][10] THQ Nordic handled distribution of the European retail PC release.[57][58] An Ultimate Edition version of the game included a downloadable content (DLC) season pass, access to the game four days early, and a copy of Halo Wars: Definitive Editionâ€”an enhanced version of the original game for Windows and Xbox One.[59] Halo Wars 2 debuted in second place on the UK's weekly retail sales chart.[60]

Following the launch of Halo Wars 2, a demo, featuring the campaign's opening mission and the Blitz Firefight mode, was released on the Xbox One and Windows.[61][62] 343 Industries and Creative Assembly supported Halo Wars 2 post-release with additional content and updates.[63] A multiplayer ranking system was withheld from the game at launch as the development team wanted gameplay to be as balanced as possible before its release.[64] The DLC included new units, leaders, Blitz cards,[51] and two extra campaign missions.[65] The content was distributed on a monthly basis beginning in March 2017.[66] A campaign expansion, Awakening the Nightmare, was revealed on June 12, 2017,[67] and released on September 26, 2017.[9] It also features new leaders, maps, and a cooperative mode.[67] In late October 2017, Halo Wars 2 received a number of visual enhancements for the Xbox One X. Additionally, cross-platform play between console and PC was enabled.[68]

The Xbox One version of Halo Wars 2 received "generally favorable" reviews from professional critics, while reception towards the PC version was more "mixed or average" according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[69][70] The general consensus among critics was that Halo Wars 2 provided an accessible strategy game experience befitting newcomers but that it either lacked tactical depth or was too conservative in its design to appease veteran RTS players who had access to alternatives on PC.[1][2][72][74][7][11][71] Several writers recommended the game to console players, in part due to the dearth of RTS games on Xbox One.[2][74]

AI behavior in Halo Wars 2 drew some criticism. A few reviewers described the pathfinding of units as substandard,[74][7] and others considered the enemy AI to be too easy and not very smart on the normal difficulty setting.[1][73] IGN disliked that bases had to be placed in predetermined locations; they found it to be limiting and said it constrained build order freedom.[2] Rock, Paper, Shotgun was also concerned about the restrictions on base building initially, however they became fond of the idea after playing the game for some time.[7]

Critics thought the enhancements made to the gamepad control scheme were smart and welcomed additions like controls groups.[1][2][72][74] In some cases they still regarded the gamepad as a suboptimal control method, largely due to the nature of analog sticks being imprecise in comparison to a mouse.[2][73] This led to some frustration among several writers as they were unable to avoid enemy attacks because maneuvering units was slow with a gamepad.[2][73][11] While the mouse and keyboard controls were seen as superior for performing precise actions quickly, some reviewers considered the control method to be unpolished and believed concessions had been made for the gamepad.[2][72][73][7] The unresponsive minimap, unintuitive default keybindings, and unfitting radial menus were highlighted as problems with the mouse and keyboard controls.[2][72][73][74]

The game's campaign received mixed impressions from reviewers. USgamer thought it was great for teaching the mechanics of the game and the progression of difficulty was reasonable.[11] GameSpot thought the highest points of the campaign missions were the sequences that borrowed elements from the main Halo games.[1] Rock, Paper, Shotgun stated that while the campaign was brief, it had good pacing and there was a decent variety of objectives and scenarios.[7] IGN agreed that the campaign missions offered enough variety to prevent them from becoming repetitive. However, overall they were unimpressed by the campaign missions, which they perceived as unambitious in their design. They were also surprised by the frequent bugs, which included crashing and mission events failing to trigger, that they experienced during their playthrough of the campaign on the Xbox One.[2]

Some reviewers enjoyed the game's story but many pointed out that the campaign's conclusion was anticlimatic due to its abrupt and unresolved ending.[1][72][73][7][11] GameSpot found the plot to be interesting because it explored different parts of the Halo universe. They also felt the integration of the narrative with the campaign missions was effectively implemented through the cutscenes and pre-fight dialogue. However, they remarked that characters were underdeveloped and the story did not contribute much to the main Halo arc.[1] IGN thought Isabel was an endearing and emotive character that bolstered the fear induced by the game's antagonist. They enjoyed Atriox's strong introduction but felt the character became less prominent as the story progressed.[2] Despite believing that there was potential for an interesting backstory with Atriox and the Banished, Eurogamer viewed the motives of the faction in the campaign as being too similar to the Covenant, which consequently made the story feel like it was retreading familiar territory.[74] Reactions towards the campaign cutscenes were overwhelmingly positive, with plenty of praise directed towards the high quality production and exceptional animation.[1][2][72][73][74][7][11][71] While the character dialogue was noted as being cheesy at times, the expressive facial animations kept the cinematics captivating.[1]

PC Gamer complimented the variety of multiplayer game modes available.[72] This sentiment was shared by other reviewers who thought the multiplayer offering was considerably more diverse than what was typically available in most RTS games.[2][74] Numerous critics regarded Blitz to be the standout multiplayer mode, however they were still apprehensive about its shortcomings.[72][74][7][71] GamesRadar called Blitz the most forward-thinking area of Halo Wars 2, in contrast to other parts of the game which they thought were formulaic.[71] Other writers agreed the mode was an interesting twist on RTS and enjoyed playing it.[72][11][2][74][1] While Blitz card packs could be earned through playing the game, critics still expressed disappointment about the inclusion of microtransactions for purchasing card packs.[74][11] A couple of reviewers suspected that winning games in Blitz may be too reliant on the luck of the draw.[2][72] Consequently, the randomness and card mechanics in the mode were thought to be unsuitable for competitive multiplayer but fitting for the Firefight variant.[2]