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[LordOfChaos]

The problem is really Master Chief. His story ended in 3 and then they brought him back and although I enjoyed Infinite, I lost interest in whatever Halo was trying to say after original trilogy.

Reminds me of Star Wars where every thread leads back to Skywalker.

They spent so much time and energy building out Halo's lore but the focus of every story is a human super soldier. Tell Halo stories not Master Chief stories.

I'm not even sure if they're trying to say anything anymore apart from keeping going

They had, imo, an interesting direction to go with after Halo 4, the reclaimer saga, the Forerunners vs Humanity as the Didact returned, eventually the second judgement of the Precursors in the Forerunner trilogy of books. And then they went and killed off the Didact (well it's unclear if they 100% did that, but years later I guess so) in a comic book of all things, and then restarted with the stupid Created rebellion plot, which they again unceremoniously dumped for Infinite which seemed to bring in new random villains "worse than the flood" we've never heard of before.

I'm not sure if there is still something they're trying to say, if there is still a "Halo bible" like Bungie legendarily had, or if it's just, we need a new Halo game, make a new Halo game, with almost no one who cares left in charge

 

[VolticArchangel]

Give it to iD software

Please leave iD out of this mess. Don't fix something that ain't broken, aka iD Software. They already have their hands full with Quake, Hexen or even a new Doom, but not Halo. Fuck no.

Certain Affinity is the right choice for the future of Halo, people who know and care about the IP and are past veterans at Bungie.

 

[MagnesD3]

I will never understand anyone who thinks microsoft is any good when they allowed thier Mario get shot with a shotgun mutiple times until it is unrecognizable

I'm not even sure if they're trying to say anything anymore apart from keeping going

They had, imo, an interesting direction to go with after Halo 4, the reclaimer saga, the Forerunners vs Humanity as the Didact returned, eventually the second judgement of the Precursors in the Forerunner trilogy of books. And then they went and killed off the Didact (well it's unclear if they 100% did that, but years later I guess so) in a comic book of all things, and then restarted with the stupid Created rebellion plot, which they again unceremoniously dumped for Infinite which seemed to bring in new random villains "worse than the flood" we've never heard of before.

I'm not sure if there is still something they're trying to say, if there is still a "Halo bible" like Bungie legendarily had, or if it's just, we need a new Halo game, make a new Halo game, with almost no one who cares left in charge

Dude I loved the direction the story of Halo 4 was going in, Halo 4 in general got me so excited for the future when I was ready to back off after Reach but got pulled back in after loving 4, the drop of Halo 5 hurt bad...

 

[SmokedMeat]

People expect a lot less from Nintendo franchises IMO. Just look at all the mainline Zelda titles, it's been re-telling the same story for decades.

I’ll take that over whatever Halo’s dumb story is any day.

 

[hinch7]

I will never understand anyone who thinks microsoft is any good when they allowed thier Mario get shot with a shotgun mutiple times until it is unrecognizable

Well they let Bungie go, so that's on them. That and arena shooters are in a bygone era, never mind spacey type ones with super soldiers; which just aren't popular anymore.

I mean there's a reason why Epic and ID Software/Bethesda haven't really released new Quake or UT for a while that focuses on multiplayer. Both most recent releases flopped hard.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

343i should have been dropped after Halo 5 giving them another shot after Infinite is insane. Not taking the Halo IP from them is Phil's biggest mistake, which makes him responsible for Halo's current uncertainty. Give the IP to either The Coalition, id Software, or Certain Affinity and let 343i either create their own IP or revive an older FPS IP that they can make their own.

I would let 343i have a go at a CoD spin-off, they have been trying to go after that audience and playstyle since they got the Halo IP. They can go anywhere with in that universe from classical FPS with boots-on-the-ground, to jet packs, wall running, and even grapple hooks. They have been obsessed with changing Halo's mobility, something they can fully explore with CoD.

343i has no reason to exist besides Halo. It is what they were built for (they are even named after a character from the games). The studio should be dissolved, not given another IP.

 

[MagnesD3]

Well they let Bungie go, so that's on them. That and arena shooters are in a bygone era, never mind spacey type ones with super soldiers; which just aren't popular anymore.

I mean there's a reason why Epic and ID Software/Bethesda haven't really released new Quake or UT for a while that focuses on multiplayer. Both most recent releases flopped hard.

Just because a good Halo wouldnt do Fortnight numbers doeant mean there isnt value for it in the brand of Xbox and servicing the legit gaming community. For example 3d Mario doesnt sell nearly as well as its 2d games and 3d platformers dont sell amazing at all but Nintendo makes them for the clout/artistry of it, it also keeps the legit gaming community satisfied with a high level title and helps keep Nintendos brand prestige that they are still a company whos Mascot delivers insanely high quality games every now and then even if they dont have to. That builds brand loyalty and will net some people to buy your console for those titles alone.

Halo once was this for people, never let your Mario (Soul of your Brand) die.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I think 343 sux at making Halo and it needs to be given to a young talented studio. Have them make it a cross between Doom and Metroid Prime

 

[unlurkified]

Halo 4 and 5 were meh, but I thought Infinite was great-definite return to form. I don’t know why people think they dropped the ball on that one so hard. Is it because they couldn’t successfully turn the MP into a live service?

 

[Kenpachii]

Let's be honest, bethesda is there main flagship title studio now. And after they get cod, cod is.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

It's bullshit.

But 343 is a total embarrassment of a studio regardless and should have been blown out the airlock ages ago.

 

[Dutchy]

Do you think 343 isn’t a talented developer Or just not a talented halo developer ?

Both, imo.

Halo 4 was ironically their most content complete launch title. But simply failed to meet quality standards.

MCC was broken for the first 5 (?) years after it's launch.

Halo 5 released without forge, a busted theater and no couch co-op campaign.

Halo Infinite released wihout forge, an even more busted theater and also no couch co-op campaign. And to top it off: Almost no content and horrible desync/bugs/glitches that persist to this day.

I think this studio does not only lack the neccesary vision required to make a decent Halo, but also simply does not have the brainpower to make it a technically functioning game.

 

[Ansphn]

Horrible. Phil has to answer for this.

 

[Killer8]

Halo is a pillar of Xbox like Mario to Nintendo and God of War to Sony. It isn't going anywhere.

A big restructuring of 343 and a smaller budget would likely do it good anyway.

 

[Kydd BlaZe]

343 should be in hot water, not the Halo IP itself. That’s asinine.

 

[Poop!]

Halo ended for me when Bungie left

 

[Dr. Suchong]

It's time...

 

[solidus12]

Never forget

 

[Freeman76]

They fucked it with 4 and 5. Not many ppl liked the Prometheans for a start.

Infinite was a decent game though imo, enough that I finished the campaign. The problem I had with Infinite was why the fuck didnt it have firefight? Thats a popular mode for so many people, they could have really made something of it. I dont care about PvP so that side didnt affect my views on the game in any way.

343 just dont know what to do with the franchise imo

 

[Maori]

Everybody talks about crunch-time and how developers are being abused with long working hours, but nobody talks about how some developers can miss their goals even if they have all the time and all the money in the world.

You know, there is also a concept of workers abusing their freedom to the detriment of the product, as is probably the case with 343i.

When you give too much freedom and unlimited budget - most workers will abuse it.

Funny how we almost never hear complaints from Japanese devs.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Halo and Gears were Xbox staples and are basically dead and have fallen out of pop culture relevance. They really dropped the ball hard on these franchises after their creators left.

MS bought Bethesda and Activision so they don’t need to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into games that will just sell worse than CoD.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Halo meant so much to the original Xbox no matter what.

 

[ByWatterson]

Meanwhile those of us who actually play Halo are having a blast, seasons are now timely, new maps are added all the time, and the gameplay is pretty perfect (to say nothing of how good MCC support is).

Sometimes I think Gamers(TM) prefer the drama of success/failure over actually playing games.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Meanwhile those of us who actually play Halo are having a blast, seasons are now timely, new maps are added all the time, and the gameplay is pretty perfect (to say nothing of how good MCC support is).

Sometimes I think Gamers(TM) prefer the drama of success/failure over actually playing games.

"Look ma, we're having a good time!"
--- Little Timmy wading in a pile of dog shit.

 

[ByWatterson]

"Look ma, we're having a good time!"
--- Little Timmy wading in a pile of dog shit.

I guess I don't get responses like these. They bungled Halo Infinite's content schedule, and it hurt the game. But it is today very, very good, and will be so for at least the next year or so.

That's a lot of time to actually have fun. When did gaming become about making sure the thing I like is the most popular thing?

(Age of Empires 2 is also absolute FIRE on Xbox, FYI)

 

[unlurkified]

Halo and Gears were Xbox staples and are basically dead and have fallen out of pop culture relevance. They really dropped the ball hard on these franchises after their creators left.

MS bought Bethesda and Activision so they don’t need to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into games that will just sell worse than CoD.

I don’t think it’s the devs fault though that these games have fallen out of relevance. Their last iterations were actually quality games. Battle Royals have just almost completely taken over the online shooter genre (to my dismay) and CoD would have fallen out of relevance too if it didn’t have one of the most popular BR’s. Nobody cares about CoD’s campaign or its traditional modes anymore. I tried playing Invasion and Ground War the other day and the games wouldn’t even fire after a ten-minute queue. It seems it’s just BR or bust right now unfortunately.

 

[SteadyEvo]

is there a game or film that improved after the trilogy?

 

[Daneel Elijah]

is there a game or film that improved after the trilogy?

GOW 2018.
Pokemon.
Elden Ring.
Ratchet & clank Future Trilogy(the PS3 games).
Uncharted 4.
Mad Max Fury Road.
MGS4.
So many books series get better after a few entries. But I admit that part of this list will not be accepted by all of you.

 

[old-parts]

Halo needs to go away for a while so everyone forgets about the bad games, the brand has been tainted enough.

MS will have plenty of other sci-fi brands as its disposal soon enough, with Acti-Blizz deal looking locked in.

Starcraft FPS at long last just don't give it to 343.

 

[Swagballs717]

I'm reminded of how empires fall with the story of Halo. So many first person shooter games in the seventh generation were touted as "the Halo killer" because they had sci fi military themes, but the only thing that killed Halo was itself.

Well, more specifically 343 Industries, but you get my point. Empires aren't defeated by an outside force, they collapse from within.

 

[Swagballs717]

is there a game or film that improved after the trilogy?

Creed is like the sixth movie in the Rocky franchise and is one of the best entries in that series

 

[AmuroChan]

Not entirely surprising. I would imagine moving forward XBox's flagship franchises will be COD, Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Forza, and Starfield (assuming that becomes a franchise). Not sure where Gears fit, but there's no question that the franchise needs a reinvention of some sort.

 

[VolticArchangel]

I don't believe in this rumor at all, no matter the Minecrafts, Starfields, Elder Scrolls and the Call of Duty's as they may come and go, Halo will ALWAYS remain the flagship and the face of Xbox.

That said, the IP is going to be dormant for a while, till the figure out with who, where and in which direction the franchise proceeds further.

 

[Hudo]

TIME TO BRING BACK BLINX, BABY

 

[ipukespiders]

As long as I can keep replaying the games I love via the MCC, I'm fine.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Honestly, most of this seems so obvious already I don’t even think it really needs to be reported

 

[sugarman]

So the Max Hoberman guy is doing the next one? Sounds pretty good.

 

[Patrick S.]

Nobody cares about CoD’s campaign or its traditional modes anymore. I tried playing Invasion and Ground War the other day and the games wouldn’t even fire after a ten-minute queue. It seems it’s just BR or bust right now unfortunately.

Man, that's sad. On what platform were you trying? Probably PC, right? I think that's where CoD modes and games always die first, and then you're left with Russian hackers

 

[Ozriel]

The only thing I learnt from this thread is that there are people still crazy enough to believe the $500m budget nonsense

 

[lh032]

Horrible. Phil has to answer for this.

his answer is COD.

 

[EDMIX]

Halo needs to go away for a while so everyone forgets about the bad games, the brand has been tainted enough.

MS will have plenty of other sci-fi brands as its disposal soon enough, with Acti-Blizz deal looking locked in.

Starcraft FPS at long last just don't give it to 343.

This.

Prior to Activision deal and Zeni Max deal...probably not.

AFTER...nah, send that fucking IP out the door.

Doom, COD and many more make more sense to focus on at this point, even Gears.

 

[lockdown2222]

just give me something basic like halo 1 or halo 2. Stop trying to cram so much into it and give it a compelling story.

 

[adamsapple]

Horrible. Phil has to answer for this.

To a sketchy twitter rumor ?

nah.

 

[fatmarco]

Wouldn't a game with half the budget of Infinite still both look and be a better game than Infinite if it was developed by a competent studio?

The majority Infinite's budget went to, essentially, nothing.

 

[Corndog]

I don't know this person and if they've had good intel before, and I won't say believe it or not. I did fear something like this being true though, the mismanagement of Halo leading to low interest and having it put on the backburner with no satisfying ending to the Master Chief story or any of the many things they've set up over the years, the Precursors, if the Timeless had any relation to them, etc etc. Infinite was yet another game that ditched the last one's plot for something new, but the end of it was imo an interesting enough launching point for more content. Wonder if we'll even ever get more Infinite content, or if it's all on a next game now and any "10 year game" plans are canned as well.

Good.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Halo is the face/mascot of Xbox. Chief is literally engraved into the consoles internals.


I do think the franchise should be rotated through their different devs teams now that the have an army of them. Create an internal competition raising bars.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

It's my useless opinion that Halo was always meh as a single player/online experience.. it was dudes drinking beer and talking shit in the same room playing that was lightning in a bottle..

No Halo CE did things nobody else was doing. That's because Xbox hardware was basically PC level.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Halo has become some sort of a niche over the years. It still has its followers but its not the franchise it once was.

I think its very easy to revitalize Halo, it won't be the juggernaut it once was since the competition is simply too fierce with faster and easier to pick up alternatives.

Double down on single player first. And scrap the open world checklist design. I think the prologue level was pretty good, Infinite actually jumps the shark once you're out in the open. More focused, but not too much like 4 and 5 were. The way 1 and 3 were structured, I think that still works. Release it when co-op is ready. As for multiplayer, Infinite was actually solid but its F2P antics brought it down. If you have a good progression system, adequate modes and maps at launch, they would be in a good place. Afterwards they can think about MTX and expansions. The problem is the MP was bare bones from the get go and pretty much everything required BP with too slow ass progression. Gamers nowadays can easily jump ship to something else if its not engaging enough. Consider all these things.

And yes, 343 can be called incompetent after 3 games and many years (more than Bungie itself). Perhaps rotate it, or restructure.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

you can tell something is being said at the studio because MCC just got a huge amount of content announced regarding cut content from past games to be ported in. And with infinite getting a bunch of Halo 3 maps remade in forge and put into a playlist.

 

[mckmas8808]

yep, that Jez Corden tweet was hilarious because it’s like these are the same people that drove Halo into the ground Jez… they didn’t squander it, they ruined it and why should we trust that same management to not continue to fuck up?

It's amazing how the most hardcore Xbox fans like Jez honestly felt like without the ABK deal Xbox as we knew it would be dead.