YouTube Exclusive: ‘Halo: Forward Unto Dawn’ Miniseries Receives 26 Million Hits

The exclusive Halo miniseries for YouTube has collected 26 million total views since launching in October, proving that long form video projects do have a place online.

Debuting for YouTube channel Machinima, the live-action miniseries titled Halo: Forward Unto Dawn is a five-part miniseries that was produced by Microsoft to help sell gamers on the release of Halo 4. Microsoft and its Studio 343 team spent $10 million to produce the series.

The idea behind the project was brilliant, giving future Halo 4 gamers the chance to know their characters as they developed throughout the series. The Halo: Forward Unto Dawn miniseries is also meant to introduce new Halo gamers to its rather complex universe.

The first episode of the Halo miniseries received 9 million YouTube views while the others received about 4 million a piece, a drop off that often occurs with episodic miniseries shows.

The biggest win for Machinima is its engagement rate as most users stuck around for the first full 19 minute video with favorites reaching 34 percent higher than other Machinima content.

Machinima was likely a big component of the videos’ success as it pushed the content out to its 138 million YouTube subscribers.

Now showcased by the YouTube channel is a new SyFy web series that is based on the hit show Battlestar Galactica. The new series is titled Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.

While attention spans on the internet appear to shrink by the minute, Machinima may have found a solution that works. Then again, at $2 million per 19 minute episode, the cost of producing high quality entertainment isn’t cheap.

Is your interest peaked? Here’s episode one of the Halo miniseries:

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