October marks the release of "Halo 5: Guardians." The shooter video game is one of the most anticipated releases of the season, not just as part of a well-loved franchise but because of the new innovations this latest installment has in store.

In the newest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, 343 Industries head Josh Holmes speaks out on the evolution of the "Halo" series, according to a report from Games Radar. The sequel has been in constant development since "Halo 4" came out and the team were already thinking of making it a different kind of gaming experience.

"We were winding down on Halo 4 and thinking about moving to a new console, and we had already planned some of the technological upgrades that we wanted to make to the engine," Holmes told Official Xbox Magazine during the interview. "And early on we started talking about the types of stories that we wanted to tell and the experiences that we wanted to create, and we really wanted to focus on a much more sociable experience, especially in our campaign."

He added, "And that sort of led us in the direction of building up the two squads, each of which has four Spartans that you can control, which would enable us to support seamless drop-in, drop-out cooperative play."

"Halo 5: Guardians" will introduce new characters important to the overall arc, including Agent Locke, described by Holmes as someone who offers a different perspective as a "direct contrast to the Master Chief."

The tweaks in the co-op experience include a storyline that supports the multi-player feature and technological advancements that required the switch to dedicated servers for more seamless and expansive gaming.

"I think co-op has always been a big part of Halo's campaign, but in the past it's sort of been treated as a completely separate experience, where you just have three other clones of the Master Chief running side by side," Holmes continued. "The narrative breaks down. One of the big creative goals that we had for 'Halo 5' was to bring that into focus and support it through the story."

Meanwhile, 343 Industries also released new photos and details of the alien vehicles in "Halo 5: Guardians" ahead of its release date. In a post from the Cannon Fodder blog, several upgraded vehicles were revealed including the Banshee with the updated energy shield, the high-performance Ghost, the more traditional Phantom and the nimble Wraith for intelligence work.

"Halo 5: Guardians" is slated to be released on Tuesday, Oct. 27.