The bands featured in Volume 1, including Breaking Benjamin and Incubus, were enthusiastic about adding music to the soundtrack. As the soundtrack was finished before all the in-game music was completed, none of the tracks written by O'Donnell appear in Halo 2 in the same arrangement.

The first volume was released alongside the video game as Volume 1 on November 9 of the same year. The first volume would contain the game's themes that were finished and mixed as well as 'inspired-by' offerings from other artists.

In the summer of 2004, Halo 2 composer Martin O'Donnell and album producer Nile Rodgers decided it would be a good idea to present Halo 2 's music in two distinct volumes. Halo 's music has since been played in concert settings, including Play! A Video Game Symphony and Video Games Live. The soundtracks' success was pointed to as a sign of increasing legitimacy of video game music in the entertainment industry. Upon release both soundtracks became commercial successes, with more than 100,000 copies sold. Volume 2 was declared the 'real' soundtrack to Halo 2. Critics were split on the merits of Volume 1, with some publications enjoying the bonus offerings while others felt the first volume lacked cohesion. Upon release, the music of Halo 2 was praised. To mark its release both Microsoft and Sumthing Else Music Works planned an aggressive marketing campaign. The music was recorded in pieces with a fifty-piece orchestra at Studio X in Seattle, Washington. The music was based on what was happening in the game, rather than using leitmotifs or theme repetitively. O'Donnell, who had previously composed the music for Bungie games such as Myth and Halo: Combat Evolved, sought to develop the ' Halo sound' of the previous game as well as introduce new sounds and influences to the music. Volume 2 was released on Apand contains all the game music arranged in a suite form. Volume 1, released at the same time as Halo 2 on November 9, 2004, contains arranged instrumental pieces written by Martin O'Donnell and his partner Michael Salvatori, as well as 'inspired-by' tracks from bands Incubus, Hoobastank and Breaking Benjamin. The soundtrack was released as two separate volumes, released almost two years apart. The Halo 2 Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack for Bungie's 2004 video game Halo 2.

Halo 2 missions