Hunt the Truth
Hunt the Truth is a fiction audio series and alternate reality game created as a promotional campaign for Halo 5: Guardians. The series was created by Ayzenberg Group and produced in partnership between Xbox, 343 Industries, and TwoFifteen McCann. The series starred Keegan-Michael Key and Mark Hamill.
Background
[edit]The show was a promotional campaign for Halo 5: Guardians and included an alternate reality game.[1] Halo previously did a promotional campaign for Halo 2 that also had an alternate reality game called I Love Bees.[2] The show was done in a similar format to Serial; the creators researched what types of microphones NPR uses for their shows in preparation.[3]
The show debuted on March 22, 2015 and released episodes weekly for 12 weeks.[4] The show was created by Xbox's social agency Ayzenberg Group and produced in partnership between Xbox, 343 Industries, and TwoFifteen McCann.[5] The show's creative director was Noah Eichen.[6] The story was written by Noah Eichen, Andrew Volpe, and Ian Tornay.[7] The series was released on Tumblr, iTunes, and SoundCloud.[8]
The second season stars Mark Hamill.[9] The second season debuted on September 22, 2015.[10]
Cast and characters
[edit]- Alan Tudyk as Noah Reibach
- Bruce Thomas as Ari Rezneck
- Cobie Smulders as Petra Janecek
- Janina Gavankar as Maya Sankar (aka "FERO")
- Jennifer Hale as Gabriella Dvørak
- Jerry Trainor as Michael Sullivan
- Keegan-Michael Key as Benjamin Giraud
- Kumail Nanjiani as Mshak Moradi
- Laura Bailey as Katrina
- Mark Hamill as Dasc Gevadim
- Mark Rolston as Andrew Del Rio
- Peter Serafinowicz as Black-Box
- Phil LaMarr as Simon Kensington (aka "Deon Govender"), Thomas Wu, and Ray Kurzig
- Rosa Salazar as Bostwick
- Stacy Keach as Franklin Mendez
- Steve Blum as Paul Gustivson (aka "Jakob Walker")
- Tamara Taylor as Ilsa Zane
- Tara Strong as Ellie Bloom
- Travis Willingham as Charles Kesler
- Troy Baker as Anthony Petrosky
- Vanessa Marshall as Chur'R-Zhal
- William Salyers
Reception
[edit]The first season had over 6.7 million listeners and it reached the top 1% of podcasts on iTunes in 2015 according to Time Magazine.[11] The show was included in the top shows on Apple iTunes in 2015.[12]
Awards
[edit]| Award | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clio Awards | 2015 | Creative Content – Long Form | Ayzenberg | Bronze | [13] |
| Clio Awards | 2015 | Streaming/Downloadable Content | Ayzenberg Group | Bronze | [14] |
| Clio Awards | 2015 | Innovative | Xbox & Ayzenberg Group | Silver | [15] |
| Clio Awards | 2015 | Integrated Campaign | twofifteenmccann | Gold | [16] |
| Shorty Awards | 2016 | GAMES | Ayzenberg Group, Xbox/343 Industries | Won | [17] |
| Shorty Awards | 2016 | TUMBLR PRESENCE | Ayzenberg Group, Xbox/343 Industries | Silver Honor | [17] |
| Webby Awards | 2016 | Advertising & Media: Social Media Campaign | Ayzenberg | Honoree | [18] |
| Webby Awards | 2016 | Advertising & Media: Integrated Campaign | twofifteenmccann | Honoree | [19] |
| The One Club | 2016 | Consumer – Branded Podcast / Branded Podcast | Ayzenberg / Pasadena | Silver Pencil | [20] |
| Game Connection's Marketing Awards | 2015 | Best Social Media Campaign | Ayzenberg Group / Microsoft / Xbox | Won | [21][22] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (March 23, 2015). "Halo 5 ARG includes Serial-style fictional podcast exposé on Master Chief". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
- ^ Peele, Britton (October 9, 2015). "5 ways to prepare for 'Halo 5'". Dallas News. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Dane, Patrick (September 12, 2015). "Talking To Showrunner Noah Eichen About The Creaton Of Halo Audio Series HUNT the TRUTH". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Skrebels, Joe (March 23, 2015). "Halo 5: Guardians #HUNTtheTRUTH – everything we know so far". GamesRadar+. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Berkowitz, Joe (March 23, 2015). "An Explosive Teaser And New Podcast Offer Ominous Clues Ahead Of "Halo 5: Guardians"". Fast Company. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Peckham, Matt (September 21, 2015). "12 Things We Learned About Halo 5's 'Hunt the Truth' Season 2". Time Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
- ^ Crouse, Megan (September 14, 2016). "How Hunt the Truth Enriched the Halo Universe". Den of Geek. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Osborn, Alex (September 22, 2015). "Halo 5: Guardians HUNT the Truth Season 2 Begins Today". IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Fahmy, Albaraa (September 22, 2015). "Mark Hamill joins Halo's Hunt the Truth". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Futter, Mike. "Second Season Of Halo 5's Hunt The Truth Serial-Style Radio Drama Debuts September 22". Game Informer. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ Peckham, Matt (September 21, 2015). "Listen to an Exclusive Preview of Halo 5's 'Hunt the Truth' Season Two". Time Magazine. Retrieved May 8, 2026.
- ^ Kelley, Seth (December 9, 2015). "Apple's iTunes Best of 2015 list for podcasts includes a ton of LA-based favorites". Time Out Magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- ^ "Bronze Award: Hunt the Truth Audio Series - Halo 5: Guardians". Clio Awards. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Bronze Award: HUNT the TRUTH Audio Series - Xbox". Clio Awards. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Silver Award: Hunt the Truth Audio Series - Halo 5:Guardians". Clio Awards. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Gold Award: Hunt The Truth - Halo 5: Guardians". Clio Awards. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ a b "HUNT the TRUTH Audio Series – The Shorty Awards". Shorty Awards. 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
- ^ "Honoree – Hunt the Truth Campaign – Ayzenberg". Webby Awards. 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
- ^ "Honoree – Halo 5: Guardians "Hunt the Truth" – twofifteenmccann". Webby Awards. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
- ^ "2016 One Show – Radio". The One Club. 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- ^ "Marketing Awards". Game Connection. 2015. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
- ^ "The 6th Edition of the Marketing Awards". Game Connection. 2015. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Hunt the Truth on Ayzenberg.com
- Hunt the Truth at the Wayback Machine (archived December 14, 2015) on Tumblr