Halo 5: Guardians was announced earlier today. Developed by 343 Industries and set to launch exclusively on the Xbox One in Fall 2015, the upcoming game has many gamers raising their questions about the armored character depicted in the announcement artwork. No, it’s not Master Chief in a different set of armor, nor is it Cortana, either.
According to Rob Semsey, Senior PR manager for Halo and Forza Motorsport, the character in the artwork is not Cortana.
Here's his exchange with Kotaku's Stephen Totilo on the matter:
Likewise, 343’s Frank O’Connor, who goes by Stinkles on the Neogaf forums confirmed that the character being depicted is neither Palmer nor is it a girl.
“It’s not Palmer and it is not a girl,” he wrote.
Finally, 343’s Josh Holmes has weighed in on the subject, revealing that the character is in fact new.
For everyone speculating about the mysterious Spartan in Halo 5: Guardians, he’s not Palmer (or Cortana!). He’s a NEW character. 🙂 #Halo
— Josh Holmes (@JoshingtonState) May 16, 2014
Elsewhere on the internet, some sleuthy redditors reckon that the newly depicted location in the game's concept artwork is Sanghelios.