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!