Paramount+ has released the Halo series premiere on YouTube, making the first episode available for free to US viewers for a limited time.
The first episode of Halo, titled “Contact,” premiered on Paramount Plus’ YouTube channel on March 31 and has attracted 56,828 views to date (at the time of writing). GamesRadar notes the first episode will be available on the platform up until April 7, but will only be accessible to US viewers as it’s region-locked to the territories where Paramount+ is available.
The Halo TV series launched on Paramount+ on March 24, with Pablo Schreiber starring as Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, Jen Taylor as the voice of AI Cortana, and Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, with threats looming from many of the Covenant enemies, including the Elites (Sangheili), Brutes (Jiralhanae), Jackals (Kig-Yar), and more.
Several deals are available that allow people to stream Halo (and all the other content) on Paramount+ either for free for an extended period of time, or at a discount such as 12 months for the price of 7. Xbox has also announced that Game Pass Ultimate members can get a free month of Paramount+ by accessing their Perks and redeeming the offer.
The second episode of season one of Halo, titled “Unbound,” arrived on Paramount+ on March 31. The first season encompasses nine episodes, with each episode costing upwards of $10 million to make. Further episodes of Halo will arrive in weekly installments every Thursday, leading right the way up to the season finale on May 19.
Halo dramatizes an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, weaving deeply-drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future. Paramount is clearly very pleased with that vision, as the series received a second season renewal before the first season premiered.
IGN scored the Halo series premiere a 7 out of 10, noting that the first episode struggled to “capture the dynamic action of the games,” but “gets enough else right in its first outing to make up for that shortcoming.” The review praises the show’s “willingness to move its story in dramatically different directions” to build “a compelling narrative that forges its own path.”
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.