Microsoft is taking the transmedia approach to the launch of its Halo 4 video game for the Xbox 360 this fall with a Halo live-action online video series: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

The company released a teaser trailer this morning for the jarhead-style space marine videos on Machinima’s YouTube channel and Halo Waypoint. The new series debuts in October on the Machinima Prime channel on YouTube and on Halo Waypoint. The live-action digital film series takes fans back to the “terrifying beginning of the Human-Covenant War,” when Master Chief (the hero of the Halo series) was a young cadet who would become a leader aboard the UNSC Infinity space vessel. The story depicts the events leading up to Halo 4.

The series is planned to have five episodes and to be included in the Halo 4 limited edition of the game. More will be unveiled at the Comic-Con event in San Diego, Calif., on July 12-15. Halo 4 debuts on Nov. 6.