Halo is my favorite franchise of all time.
Like many, I grew up with the Master Chief. His journey inspired me throughout junior high, high school, and even college. The multiplayer forged countless friendships that I still hold fifteen years later.
I hope you know I mean it, then, when I say that Microsoft is really dropping the ball when it comes to Halo. The series’ latest release, Infinite, was a step in the right direction, but a lack of long-term support ensured that the game’s victory wouldn’t last long.
Halo Infinite Needs a Shot in the Arm
Infinite was supposed to be the big reset. A return to form, if you will. In many ways, it was. The campaign featured fun call-backs to the original series while introducing its own unique feature in the open world. Its multiplayer is the best the series has had since Bungie’s, at least in terms of gamefeel, and a free-to-play approach meant anyone could get involved. On Xbox and PC, that is.
It’s unfortunate, then, that the game’s post-launch content updates were sparse. The promised single-player expansions got canceled, and players moved on. While the hardcore amongst us are still involved, we’re nowhere near the millions of unique players from the game’s launch.
Nowadays, developer 343i, now operating under the name Halo Studios, has addressed many of Infinite’s launch issues.
The game boasts a wealth of content, including the Forge map-maker, a custom game browser, a cooperative campaign mode, and much more. It’s a set of features more in line with the classics, Halo 2, 3, and Reach, and one that every player should experience.
This is why the series needs to come to PlayStation 5.
Microsoft is launching a variety of its core franchises on Sony’s platform, to great success, no less. We’ve seen Forza, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves come over, amongst others, and Gears of War is next on the list.
But with two of Xbox’s pillar franchises making a name for themselves on PlayStation, we’re waiting on the final, most meaningful one in Halo.
Yet we’ve barely a peep when it comes to Master Chief. There’s the rumor of the Combat Evolved remake coming to PS5, as Halo Studios is building it in the easily portable Unreal Engine 5. Unfortunately, Combat Evolved isn’t Infinite, and they need more than one game to bring Halo back to the mainstream. Why not Infinite?
What Does Xbox Gain by Bringing Halo to PlayStation 5?
With player counts dwindling, Infinite gains a lot by going multi-platform. Halo is no longer the FPS juggernaut Microsoft wants it to be, but bringing it to PlayStation 5, and Switch 2 while we’re at it, would inject the community with fresh energy.
The move would really be a win-win. PlayStation players get one of the best series ever made, while Halo Studios and Xbox receive an extra few million players. This isn’t to mention millions of people to buy the game’s battle passes and cosmetics.
If Infinite is successful, Xbox could consider bringing over the Master Chief Collection as well. At that point, the entire Halo franchise, Halo 5 excluded, would have to be part of the conversation.
Players would buy the game simply to own it on something other than Xbox. Lapsed players who moved on to other consoles long ago would jump back in. It would be a historical, surreal gaming moment for the books.
And Halo, for the first time since the Xbox 360, would finally matter again.
