The documentary about the search is being developed by companies including Xbox Entertainment Studios, and the film is expected to be released later this year on Microsoft's Xbox game consoles.

Who is Lucian Soulban

Openly gay Ubisoft Montreal lead writer

How it all begun

The writer of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon believes we won't see an openly homosexual protagonist in a triple-A game for some time [highlight]out of fears that sales would be hurt. Soulban did acknowledge however that while we may not see a game centered on a gay character for a while, he believes that change is happening little by little.

"We'll definitely see more of them, and I think it's happening quietly," he said. "Look at the choices offered in Mass Effect 2 & 3, or Fable 3, or Dragon Age II or Skyrim, the gay characters in Borderlands 2 who mention it without much fanfare, etc.

"What do you think the odds are that we’ll get a mid-30s stubbly-bearded brown-haired white guy with a raspy voice who is gay as a lead character in a AAA title?" Richard Dansky, the company's "Central Clancy Writer" (yes, that's a thing) asked Lucien Soulban, an openly gay man who's worked on blockbuster shooter franchises like Far Cry and Rainbow Six.

"Not for a while, I suspect, because of fears that it'll impact sales," Soulban responded. In his view, commercial constraints are the chief barrier to diversifying video game characters and stories. At best, what AAA game developers can do now is relegate LGBT characters to supporting roles, or pull a sort of "bait-and-switch" on players like Nintendo famously did when it revealed that Metroid star Samus Aran was actually a woman underneath her suit of power armor. Either that, or what BioWare has done with its Dragon Age and Mass Effect games—let players decide the sexuality of their characters and chalk the decision up to player choice.

"Wouldn't it be great to honor and recognize outstanding examples in video games who strive for inclusion, rather than weigh in on this issue in a public manner for negative reasons instead of positive ones?" writes Justin Amirkhani of Vagabond Dog, makers of the well regarded Always Sometimes Monsters.

"Speaking as a developer who has built a game from the ground up with this sort of freedom in mind, allow me to clarify that the sorts of options GLAAD wants to see in games do not come easily," he wrote. "We are not the first to include these choices, there are countless other games that have gone unrecognized for their inclusion over the years. Games that have sold millions upon millions of copies.

"We, and other developers I'm sure, think it would be great for a respected, powerful organization such as GLAAD to finally recognize the positivity in the video game industry," Amirkhani wrote.

Any time you transition to a new platform, there is the opportunity to look at things with a new perspective. For us at 343 Industries, the launch of the Xbox One was an opportunity to think about what stories we wanted to tell, how to tell them, and how best to push the “Halo” franchise to showcase the platform. And, most importantly, combining our passion for “Halo” with the vocal and informative input from our fans.

“Halo” isn’t simply a perennial game franchise, it’s a part of the Xbox platform itself. In terms of innovation and ideation, it’s sometimes important to people who might not even play “Halo.” And of course it’s a passion and an essential experience for two generations of gamers. So we asked ourselves, how do we begin and where do we go with “Halo” on Xbox One?

In the past, “Halo” games have pushed the Xbox forward, showcasing the console and its ecosystem in entertaining and innovative ways. Making a “Halo” game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial. It’s a task that we, at 343 Industries, are taking very seriously to ensure we deliver the “Halo” game that fans deserve, and a game that is built from the ground up for Xbox One.

I’m happy to reveal that “Halo 5: Guardians,” the next installment in the legendary saga of the Master Chief, will launch on Xbox One in fall of 2015. In the tradition of every “Halo” game since its debut in 2001, it is a massive and exciting project.

“Halo 5: Guardians” is a bigger effort than “Halo 4.” That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.

It’s a game that will hopefully demonstrate the talent, learnings and abilities of the 343 Industries team. A game that will incorporate the things we learned from “Halo 4” about technology, aesthetics, performance and scale – and perhaps more importantly, understanding and embracing a community of gamers who love what lies at the heart of this game, and the limitless potential of the “Halo” universe.

And 2015 won’t simply be the year of “Halo 5: Guardians,” it will also be a year that offers us a unique opportunity. The opportunity to invite old friends and new audiences into that universe through the “Halo” television series, launched as a unique collaboration with Steven Spielberg and some of the finest creative minds in the business. A series that will stand alone, as well as complement and enrich the game experience. We’ll have more to share on the “Halo” television series as we near its projected fall 2015 release.

Your Journey Begins in 2014

Many fans noted that I was very deliberate with my phrasing on stage at E3 last year. I spoke about a “journey,” rather than a destination – and that journey definitely begins in 2014 with a giant leap, rather than one small step. We’ll give you much more information about our plans for this year at the Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing on June 9, and we’re confident that “Halo” fans will be pretty excited about the special plans we have in store.

So until E3, I’d like to express my gratitude to our massive and varied Halo community, whose energy, enthusiasm, criticism and kindness are the driving force behind what we do and what we hope to achieve in “Halo 5: Guardians.”

Google’s YouTube has reached a deal to buy Twitch, a popular videogame-streaming company, for more than $1 billion, according to sources familiar with the pact.

The deal, in an all-cash offer, is expected to be announced imminently, sources said. If completed the acquisition would be the most significant in the history of YouTube, which Google acquired in 2006 for $1.65 billion. The impending acquisition comes after longtime Google ad exec Susan Wojcicki was named CEO of YouTube earlier this year.

Reps for YouTube and Twitch declined to comment.