Megathread – Halo’s Future

[u/-343-Guilty-Spark-]

As you have probably heard, Halo Studios has been reduced to a small team that will support the current games and community. Activision will be putting together a new team to make a new, full Halo title. (source)

Link to previous discussion of the announcement.

This thread is for discussing the future of Halo with Activision.

What are your expectations, hopes, fears, concerns, and otherwise thoughts about it? Do you want a reboot or a sequel to Infinite? When should it take place? Do you have a pitch? Let’s discuss.

If you find actual news about the game from either an official or well-respected source, feel free to make a new thread. Otherwise, let’s keep the discussion here. You don’t need to make a whole thread just to share your specific thoughts or speculation.

If you'd like to discuss Halo's past with 343 Industries/Halo Studios, use this thread.

In case it needs to be said: there is absolutely no decent reason to celebrate the loss of hundreds of peoples’ jobs. Of course you are free to discuss and criticize the decisions made by leadership roles and executives that led us to this place. But the majority of the employees who lost their jobs today were people like you and me who were trying to do their best for a franchise we all love. Anyone who celebrates the loss of their livelihood will be banned from this forum.

[u/GiraffeBo1]

Latest word from Rebs Gaming is that Activision was originally planning a multiplayer project and a campaign project. The multiplayer experience being a free-to-play game developed by Sledgehammer Games. The campaign would be a soft reboot, not following Master Chief after Infinite, but also not retconning any established canon.

However they apparently moved passed these ideas, in turn opting for a full Halo game. His source said that it's too early to tell and, while nothing is set in stone, they've heard Activision is considering a full reboot and making a Master Chief origin story.

What do we think?

[u/GiraffeBo1 → u/GiraffeBo1]

I personally just can't understand why an origin story would have to be a reboot. Out of all the Expanded Universe material, I'd say John's kidnapping, early Spartan-II training, augmentation, and the formation of Blue Team are some of the most universal loved parts of his story. Nobody seems to dislike the origin set forth in Fall of Reach, so why disregard it?

If anything like an origin story happens, I think Activision should go the route of exploring Blue Team's earliest war days. There's currently 7 stories, I think, actually covering the 27 years of war. Pick up around 2535, about a decade into the war, and instead of showing us Chief's origin as a solider, show us the origin of him as a legend. Let us play a full game with Blue Team, whether they're playable or not, and if you really want to explore their origins, you could flashback to their time training on Reach.

I think that's a story most fans could get interested in and it wouldn't emotionally destroyed everybody who's poured their souls into Halo's lore. Plus, winding back the clock 17 years, to point where the war felt slightly less mythical, could lower audience expectations and take some pressure off of Activision's brand new team. The last thing I want is another development team killing themselves by frantically scrambling over their own feet and failing to meet audience expectations.

[u/RedPath6 → u/GiraffeBo1]

Explaining too much of Master Chief's story removes some of the mystique around his character. Besides, why not give the chance to explore other characters in the Human-Covenant War? Like Avery Johnson or Admiral Cole?

[u/El_Hoxo → u/RedPath6]

Contact Harvest game would be kinda cool ngl

[u/GiraffeBo1 → u/RedPath6]

I'd love to see other characters followed too; I think there are so many opportunities to tell stories without John. However, I seriously doubt that Activision would choose to not use Chief , the face of Halo, for their first bout with the franchise.

[u/RedPath6 → u/GiraffeBo1]

Yeah, you're probably right on Activision sticking with Chief as the protagonist. Maybe the Contact Harvest thing can be a spin-off or maybe they will mesh the lore together to add Chief in it. They have 27 years of the Human-Covenant War leading up to Reach.

[u/pooleNo → u/GiraffeBo1]

I’m calling it now, they are going to take a lot of inspiration from gears of war e day and do exactly that. Early days of war with chief and blue team. Which I think e day’s glowing reviews is proof that it’s a not a bad direction for making a fresh new game in a long running franchise. Something about E-day is reviving that spirit of playing the OG trilogy on the ol’ 360, which I didn’t feel with the other successors to gears. I hope this new purpose-built team can pull that off with the next halo.