Halo Infinite's finite reign concludes with a renewed covenant - and multiplatform ambition
For their latest evolution in combat, Xbox's mastery of their chief franchise may depend upon the hand of an unlikely arbiter
Xbox’s justification of their change in ordinance for their prized, yet battle-worn brand is rather evident, illustrated by an excerpt from Pierre Hintze - head of Halo Studios, né 343 Industries:
“If you really break Halo down, there have been two very distinct chapters. Chapter 1 – Bungie. Chapter 2 – 343 Industries. Now, I think we have an audience which is hungry for more.”
Granted, there is quite an aggressive distinction between Bungie and 343, both in personnel and philosophy. This latest exercise in brand management is a matter of naming convention, not hollistic revision. Nevertheless, 343’s guilt over their mishandling of the Halo franchise has sparked a minor revolution within Xbox’s flailing suite of studios, illuminated particularly through a surprise change under their Warthog hood.
Following the shuttering of Tango Gameworks, causing a sonic wave of outrage in light of Hi-Fi Rush’s universal acclaim, Xbox’s prevailing attitude towards success seemed actively hostile; it was not enough to triumph within the hermetic wilderness of the Games Pass biome. Thus, in order to maximalise material revenue, Xbox made a bold declaration to migrate their titles to the shores of their sworn nemesis: PlayStation. However, one could argue that PlayStation hardly consider Xbox in a villainous regard, nor a competitor. Regardless, Phil Spencer and co. - luxuriating in the heat of Xbox’s wildfire of an eighth generation spreading into its successor - made their intentions apparent: the Xbox name would no longer limit itself to a sturdy cuboid, instead prioritising the label as a medium of accessibility. Your computer’s hardware can be retired in favour of Microsoft’s XCloud software; if your phone has an internet connection, it can become an Xbox. Now, when you boot up Indiana Jones and the Stupendous Sphere on your PlayStation 5, you will be greeted with an Xbox ident. Whether this is a manner of hard power delivered softly or soft power hardly delivered will emerge in time; who has the bandwidth to stream Starfield effectively - much less the interest?
Therefore, the latest dispatch from Redmond, Washington detailing a thorough restructuring of the Halo brand, against the television series’ ignominious cancellation and Infinite ironically continuing to be beset by the live-service entropy, can be met with a manner of skepticism. Aside from the clean rebrand, the epononymous studio announced a switch in game engine from their native Slipstream to Unreal Engine 5. This was characterised as a pragmatic maneouver, ensuring the studio can court talent familiar with a universal tool, rather than training recruits to respect their in-house idiosyncrasies. Furthermore, UE5’s streamlined measures of production can ensure multiple projects can be maintained at once - yes, numerous. Hintzie believes audiences demand content at a prodigious rate; Slipspace’s bespoke manner limits their pace to a frustrating end. In this respect, Halo Studios can surfeit their parent company’s insatiable appetite for IP - they could use the capital, after all.
In parallel, however, there is one advantage to adopting the Unreal Engine for their future exploits: ease of translation to contemporary platforms. Indeed, a remake of Halo: Combat Evolved appearing on the PlayStation 5 would represent a triumph and a humiliation in equal measure: the title that launched Xbox into an escalating console war against PlayStation would be employed as a white flag promising cooperation, if not annexation. Additionally, if Master Chief were to appear on the Nintendo Switch 2 - outside of the Fortnite metaverse - Xbox’s most venerable mascot would become an ambassador, rather than a general. Xbox’s aggressive stratification in their commercial state, however, is an inevitable consequence of developmental malaise: Bethesda’s floundering output prior to Elder Scrolls VI’s unfurling, in concert with the 69 billion problems arisen by their acquisition of Activision-Blizzard-Candy Crush, has cast their dreams of monopolisation aside. Candidly, there is not a single game worth purchasing an Xbox Series for, particularly with Hi-Fi Rush’s presence on the PlayStation Store.
Ultimately, Xbox’s manner of mercantilism cannot be read as effective nor futile: Microsoft’s cloud folly ensures they would not consider excising their gaming division at this stage. Curiously, Xbox’s shift in priority aligns neatly with Warner Bros.-Discovery’s reboot of the DC canon: it all starts with a man of steel.