The latest installment of the Halo video game series hit its stride within the first 24 hours of its release.  Microsoft's Halo: Reach pulled in more than $200 million dollars globally on its launch day, according to Reuters and Venture Beat.

"What Halo: Reach numbers tell me is gamers are there," said Vice President of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer. "They are willing to buy the great experiences when they come out. In fact, that we are exceeding Halo 3 numbers out of the gate tells me that the industry is in a healthy state."

The gaming industry has experienced a sales slump in recent months.  The break-out success of Halo: Reach, along with the anticipated rise of video game sales during the holiday shopping season are expected to help end the downturn.

Spencer called Halo: Reach, the biggest game Microsoft has ever released.

"Every major installment has grown in scope and popularity, firmly cementing the Halo franchise as one of the most popular entertainment properties in the world over the past decade."

Reach is a prequel to the main Halo trilogy.  The last installment of the trilogy, Halo 3,  released in 2007 brought in $170 million in its first 24 hours and generated more than $300 million in its first week.

In total, the Halo franchise has grossed nearly $2 billion in sales and sold more than 34 million copies in its nine-year run.

The $200 million record-breaking figure made Reach the biggest entertainment launch so far this year in the U.S. alone, but the prequel's debut still falls short of the biggest entertainment launch to date.   

In November 2009, Activision’s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 raked in $310 million in first day sales in the U.S. and the U.K.