Halo 4 War Games Map Pass detailed and priced

Halo 4 is on the horizon, and just like most of the Halo games before it, we can expect an offering of DLC map packs to keep us playing well into the next year. Today, Microsoft announced the Halo 4 War Games Map Pass, which is just the company's fancy name for those DLC season passes that seem to be so popular these days. By purchasing the Halo 4 War Games Map Pass, you save 15% on the cost of buying each of Halo 4's three map packs separately, so this is a good idea for those who already know they'll be buying all of the Halo 4 DLC 343 Industries and Microsoft put out.

The Halo 4 War Games Map Pass comes with a price tag of 2000 Microsoft Points ($25), which means that the individual map packs will cost $10 (800 MSP) each. Microsoft also gave us the names of these three maps packs today: Crimson, Majestic, and Castle. Crimson features the Wreckage, Harvest, and Shatter maps; Majestic includes the Landfall, Monolith, and Skyline maps; while Castle will be adding the Daybreak, Outcast, and Perdition maps to the game.

Even better is that we were given release windows for all three packs today. Crimson will be out in December, Majestic in February, and Castle in April, so we'll begin getting DLC shortly after Halo 4's release. There aren't any specific release dates for these map packs available at the moment, probably due to the fact that none of them have been finished yet.

If you pick up the Halo 4 War Games Map Pass, Microsoft will also toss in a few extras on the side. Purchasers will get the Scanner and Strider helmets to use in-game, along with a new Falcon emblem that would otherwise be unobtainable. Microsoft's announcement originally said that the Map Pass is included as part of the Halo 4 Limited Edition console bundle, but in the time since, 343's David Ellis has clarified that it will be bonus with the Limited Edition game only, not the console. Will you be buying a Halo 4 War Games Map Pass?