Report - Microsoft testing Project S strategy game [UPDATE]

Update: Looks like it's something to do with actual Spartans and not a Halo related game, according to this piece of art and further confirmation from Examiner.

Original: A survey sent out by Microsoft has the firm enlisting alpha testers for what it describes as a “groundbreaking," “giant, revolutionary step for PC strategy games”.

Being called "Project S" at the moment, the game has been in testing for a few weeks, and some of the original players let slip the "S" in the title stands for Spartan - leading outsiders to believe it's set in the Halo universe.

However, it could also have something to do with historical Spartans, instead of sci-fi soldiers running around shooting Covenant enemies. Considering it's being rumored that Robot Entertainment is the developer behind Project S, either one is likely.

Formed by ex-Ensemble studios members, Robot has been working on what it calls "Game 1" for Microsoft Game Studios for quite some time, with folks on Robot's forums assuming it's Age of Empires IV or Halo Wars 2.

Kotaku suggests it could be a Games for Windows port of Halo Wars, and since Robot Entertainment staffers worked on both the Halo RTS and the AoE franchise, again, either one is possible.

According to Microsoft’s survey, the Project S Alpha is planned to run for a month or two, so hopefully we'll know more once it ends.

In the meantime, we'll ask Robot.