Following a recent collaboration between Bethesda (Who recently joined the Xbox Game Studios family) and the University of Melbourne around the 10th Anniversary of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I am getting the sense that we may be seeing many collaborations between Xbox and Australian orchestras in coming months. Earlier today, Xbox hosted a global 20th Anniversary celebration for the Xbox Brand. But it also serves as the 20th anniversary of the iconic first-party Halo video game franchise. Marking this occasion in its own way, Xbox partnered with The Sydney Youth Orchestra and Paul Glass, Kamilaroi Man, to produce what they have described as “uniquely Australian performance inspired by the music and visuals featured in the Halo series”.
Featured in the global Xbox anniversary stream, the orchestral segment took place in the Royal Botanical Gardens on Gadigal Land, with Sydney Harbour as a backdrop. Performed at dusk and performed amidst lighting and visual effects attempting to “[showcase] the epic feel and aesthetic of Halo”, this brought a terrific ensemble of young performers to the world stage and effectively marked a significant milestone for such a prolific franchise in the gaming industry.
You can watch the full performance below. Keep scrolling down to see statements from Sydney Youth Orchestra and Xbox ANZ as well!
All imagery in this article was provided by Xbox Australia’s publicity team