Halo 5 microtransactions have now generated at least $1.5 million

Whatever your opinion is about microtransactions, they are popular, and this continues to be true for Halo 5: Guardians. Microsoft has now confirmed that sales from the game's Req packs have generated at least $1.5 million. This is up from $1 million in December 2015, $700,000 as of November 19, and $500,000 as of November 5.

As Microsoft said in the past, these funds will be added to the Halo World Championship prize pool, lifting the total prize purse to $2.5 million. The prize pool started at $1 million.

"Since we first announced a starting prize pool of $1 million at Gamescom 2015, the winnings for the Halo World Championship has grown immensely due to community crowdfunding via the Halo 5: Guardians Req system," Microsoft said today.

One of the latest Halo 5 microtransactions released for the game was a $25 Arena Req bundle. It adds to Halo 5's existing lineup of microtransaction offers that range in price from $2-$100. You can see all of the offerings here on Halo 5's website.

Halo 5 microtransaction revenue is likely even higher than $1.5 million. As Microsoft said before, only a "portion" of Req bundle sales are contributed to the Halo World Championship prize pool.

The prize pool is now locked and will not go any higher. The winning team the Halo World Championship will take home $1 million, which Microsoft says is the "biggest individual prize pool in console esports history."

Finally, Microsoft announced the 16 teams that will compete in the Halo World Championship 2016 finals this March. Eight teams, including Evil Geniuses and Denial, are from North America, while the rest represent places like Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Asian, and Latin America.

The championship weekend takes place March 18-20 at a venue in Hollywood to be announced on March 4.