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Microsoft has tossed a bucket of cold water on gamers and fanboys who were excited by this past weekend's news that Oscar winner Steven Spielberg was interested in producing the long-awaited feature film version of Halo.

In a statement to Kotaku, Microsoft said of the Spielberg rumor, "We're glad there's still a lot of enthusiasm in the entertainment industry surrounding the idea of a Halo movie. That said, the Halo feature film remains on hold as we focus on projects like Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach."

Microsoft later added that it had "nothing further to share with respect to plans regarding a Halo movie."

Of course, that's exactly what the company would and should say on the record if a filmmaker such as Spielberg was in the midst of making a deal for the movie.

It must be noted that Spielberg was reportedly taken with the Halo: The Fall of Reach spec script that Stuart Beattie had penned, something done independent of Microsoft.