Halo: Reach standard, limited, and legendary editions confirmed

One day after retail flyers hinted at standard, limited, and legendary editions of Halo: Reach, Microsoft has officially announced all three versions of this fall's highly anticipated shooter. Set to retail for $150 in the US, the legendary edition will contain a McFarlane Toys statue of Noble Team, the six-Spartan squad at the center of the game. Weighing in at nearly 10 pounds, the 10-inch-high statues will be individually numbered and hand-painted.

The legendary edition will come inside UNSC-themed custom packaging and will contain exclusive Spartan and Elite in-game armour for use in multiplayer modes, as well as an artefact bag containing the personal journal of Spartan program creator Dr. Catherine Halsey. It will also come with classified documents "that unravel long held secrets from the Halo universe" and a copy of the game housed in a recovered black box from the Office of Naval Intelligence, the secret military agency that commissioned Halsey's research.

The limited edition will contain just the Elite amour, artefact bag, and ONI black box case and is set to retail for $80. The standard edition of the game will sell solo for $60. Supplies of both the limited and legendary editions will be limited, according to Microsoft.

The announcement confirms leaked scans taken by Planet Xbox 360 yesterday that revealed the existence of the three editions. Halo 3 also launched with three versions, with the legendary edition containing a miniature replica of a Halo Spartan Mjolnir Mark VI helmet. It retailed at the lower price of $130.

Halo: Reach's multiplayer beta is set for launch on May 3, and developer Bungie is expecting it will attract more than 3 million participants. For a sneak peek at the multiplayer beta, check out GameSpot's brand-new preview.