The Future of Halo will no longer considered a "trilogy" but rather a "Saga".
According to an article released last week, future titles will no longer be numbered like previous titles.
Last week, before Microsoft pulled a 180 on their DRM and internet policies, I remarked that because the Xbox One was in a rather rough spot, it was going to have to rely on Halo as a system seller now more than ever.
The playing field has been leveled a bit since then with the death of license-based disc games and internet check-in, but it’s a statement that still holds true. Microsoft seems to agree.
That’s why it’s been announced that 343′s Reclaimer Trilogy, which was meant to be Halos 4, 5 and 6, has now transformed into something Microsoft is now calling a Halo “saga.”
This idea sprung to life when they were pressed about what exactly the Halo title was that was shown at E3, as it didn’t have a number or even a subtitle. Would it be an add-on type game like ODST, or another full Halo game like the numbered installments?
The answer is the latter, though whether it will be called Halo 5 isn’t clear and might be beside the point now anyway.
With that news, Phil Spencer spoke to Gamespot about the new plan for upcoming Halo games:
“While we originally said trilogy, we’ve actually expanded this to more of a saga, so we don’t want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy.”
What this potentially might mean is that Microsoft wants to bump up the frequency of Halo titles. I don’t think it would be physically possible to turn it into a yearly Call of Duty style release with only 343 working on it, nor do I think that would be good for the series. But we might see a higher occurrence of the games all the same.
When all the DRM/always-on drama was going down, I posed a question to Xbox loyalists/Halo enthusiasts about whether or not the games exclusivity on the one would make them buy a system. The response was an overwhelming no. Partly because Microsoft’s policies were too intrusive to stomach, but a fair amount said that Halo just didn’t have the same draw that it used to have after six shooter titles. Many were more excited about Destiny or Titanfall, new IPs from trusted studios, including Halo’s former masters, Bungie.
That said, Halo is still a powerful franchise for Microsoft to wield, and by “unrestricting” themselves from a trilogy, it’s clear they have big plans for the series.
So there you have it! Future Halos will no longer be numbered with new titles planning to be released
more frequently. Also note the response to the "exclusivity on the One would make them buy a system"... "response
was an overwhelming NO."
What does this mean for the franchise that alot of gamers deemed the "best first person shooter"??
Guess we will have to wait and see what Microsoft and 343Industries have planned.
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