After the recent round of layoffs at Xbox which has resulted in a total of 268 employees being let go from the brand across Halo Studios and other first-party studios, it was officially revealed that Microsoft has handed over the Halo franchise to Call of Duty maker Activision who will now helm the next mainline entry of the iconic first person shooter series. This also gave rise to a new claim by TechnicalHalo on X, which says Activision may actually reboot the entire Halo franchise and usher in a whole new era for the series.
According to TechnicalHalo, the decade-long franchise will now head into “a new chapter” which is essentially going to be “a reboot” and earlier “lore is not going to be continued”. And obviously, fans of the Halo series are quite divided on whether the new studio should do a complete reboot or keep the original protagonist of the series, Master Chief’s story moving forward.
A part of the overall player base would prefer if Activision chooses to retcon the events of Halo 4 and beyond, while keeping the beloved Master Chief’s story from the Bungie era canon to the franchise. This can lead to the new studio starting a whole new era of stories in the Halo Universe while still making some of the fondest aspects of the franchise alive.
“I’m against a full reboot, but if they said the Bungie era is canon and everything else going forward is being rebooted, I wouldn’t be very upset. Halo 4 has grown on me over the years but 5 and Infinite’s story led nowhere,” said one player on Reddit, which reflects the thoughts of a huge part of the fan base.
Meanwhile, Rob Kostich, president of Activision has emphasized on creating the greatest Halo title that’s been ever made in their recent official statement: “For Halo, our goal is clear: make the greatest Halo game ever, worthy of its universe and legacy, while staying true to what made players love it in the first place. It is a bold ambition, one that this franchise deserves. We have already begun assembling a purpose-built team, unique in capability and talent, ready and excited to deliver this next chapter with the community.”
