Halo studio 343 Industries has been heavily focused on Infinite in recent years, as Microsoft attempted to breathe new life into the series after the bumpy ride that was Halo 5. While we very much enjoyed the team's 2021 release, it sounds like we could have seen a lot of different Halo styles in recent years if 343 and Xbox were more receptive.
Taking to Twitter, ex-Halo lead developer Kevin Schmitt responded to fan anguish about "Halo ideas that got pitched" over the years but ultimately never got greenlit. Schmitt says that there were "20-30 game ideas" pitched across 12 years, including "ODST-themed" experiences. Here's the developer's full post on the matter:
Schmitt worked on Halo from 2011 through 2023 as 343 Industries put its stamp on the famous Xbox franchise. It's safe to say the team could have gone in a hugely different direction over those years, but alas, they've mainly focused on mainline entries so far. Even so, Schmitt was keen not to blame Microsoft for how things have played out.
Interestingly this Twitter discussion started out with a tweets about Helldivers 2, and how some ex-343 devs apparently pitched something similar to that concept at one stage - albeit in the Halo universe of course. We don't know the validity of those claims, but with the huge popularity of the PS5 & PC shooter right now, it's safe to say that Microsoft would love something like that on its platform!
What do you think to this info dump on the last decade or so at 343? Discuss these potential Halo game pitches down below.
Comments 8
It seems nobody has been enjoying 343's take on the Halo Franchise so why would anyone care that the canceled some games?
@ZuneTattooGuy Depending on the point of time, Halo fans never enjoy anyone's take on Halo - Bungie or 343. It's just the way.
Also, depending on the point of time, Halo fans always enjoy anyone's take on Halo - Bungie or 343. It's just the same.
The real travesty here is the potentially wasted opportunities.
@ZuneTattooGuy sadly there are a lot of talented people within 344i but I have a hunch that there's a corporate structure that doesn't really listen to everyone in the entire organisation. Aaaaaaand the core Halo community is just very difficult to please. Don't get me wrong, I love Halo and I have never stopped playing over the years and 343i surely deservers their fair share of criticism. But the community can be pretty unreasonable at times.
They should have green lit a horror themed title the moment RE2Remake took off.
Honestly, with 343's track record, it is no surprise Microsoft doesn't want to dump money into a developer that time and time again showed they can't develop a game to g save their lives.
Halo Infinite' netcode has literally been broken since release. Over 2 years now. And still no fix in sight. Even their latest flights only showed marginal improvement.
Halo infinite is my favorite halo so I'm not too upset that they didn't pick up any of those ideas.
Let ID make a campaign though.
343's Halo games have all been OK, but not a patch on the Bungie ones imo.
@BrilliantBill yep, people didn't care for Reach multiplayer at the time. Look at armor lock and the story didn't really follow the book either. "Halo fans" have generally had problems with all games at some point even before CE came out. No one hates Halo as much as a Halo fan. I guess you can say that about any "fan" of a long running series. Look at Star Wars.
I mean it really depends on who you ask and if you accept the opinion of random people on the internet.
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