Fans who want to scratch that Halo itch now have their chance, as the demo for the upcoming Halo Wars has hit Xbox Live Marketplace. While the demo was available with the use of a promotional code as of January 29, now anyone can download the 1.4 GB tester. The franchise undergoes its first major revision in some time, as Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game that details events in the Halo universe that occur 20 years before the first game, Combat Evolved.

The game was developed by Ensemble Studios, and it’s their last project as well, with the Microsoft-owned studio put down despite being trusted with the reins to Microsoft’s most significant franchise.

We’ll have a hands-on for the demo soon, so check back here for more info on this new twist in one of gaming’s most popular franchises.

Marc Normandin is the video game editor of Blast Magazine. You can reach him via e-mail at marcnormandin@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @Marc_Normandin