Halo fans are divided on whether or not Activision should completely reboot the franchise or keep Master Chief’s story going.
A rumor floating around the internet from a user named TechnicalHalo suggests that Activision will totally reboot the series, throwing all of the lore out the window in favor of a fresh start. We advise you take this with a grain of salt, as we have no idea what Activision’s plans are for Halo, but it has started an interesting conversation among fans. Should Activision use its first Halo game to create a clean slate for the beloved sci-fi franchise?
A segment of fans are under the impression that, although Halo has gone off the rails in the last decade, there are still some elements from the newer games that are worth keeping. Bungie’s contributions to the franchise (Halo: Campaign Evolved through Halo: Reach) are valued by fans, so some believe that if there’s a way to retcon Halo 4 and onwards, that would be a valid option, as well. This ensures that the most beloved Chief stories remain canon, while also giving Activision an option to tell a whole new era of stories in the Halo universe.
“I’m against a full reboot,” said one fan on Reddit. “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 yearsm but 5 and Infinite’s story led nowhere.”
“My only other idea for getting back to a good status quo, short of scorching everything, would be to just do what Terminator does all the time and just start from Halo 3 again. But it would basically nullify any investment people had in the last decade+, even if it wasn’t much, and still give the impression there’s no direction if you cop out on a true follow-up,” said another.
That same fan suggested the idea of a full blown reboot might be born out of necessity, given Master Chief actor Steve Downes is getting older and will inevitably need to be recast if they want to tell new stories with the character.
“Steve Downes I just don’t think is a long-term option for Chief anymore at his age and a recast is inevitable. You can keep Taylor as Cortana and the Campaign Evolved recasts but a reboot would immediately clear the deck for new versions of the characters and new actors. I’m actually more interested in a full reboot at this point than even a loose Infinite sequel. A full reboot actually sounds like more of a plan,” they added.
Another fan echoed these sentiments of recasting Chief: “Honestly might be a good call, even if a lot of Halo fans hate the idea,” said another fan. “If they’re wanting to grow the franchise again and get new eyes why saddle this fresh beginning with over 20 years of games, comics, and books. Plus, Steve Downes ain’t getting any younger and will probably be 80 by the time this game releases. Might be time to consider a new voice actor, and trying to recast Chief in a sequel feels like sacrilege.”
Some think it’s time to leave Chief behind altogether, regardless of how Activision handles the timeline, and embrace other stories in the Halo universe, similar to Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.
“Reboot? Okay thats fine,” one fan said. “Just make it a Halo reboot and not Master Chief reboot. Give me Halo games with new characters akin to Reach or ODST.”
“I think it would be a shame to completely overwrite everything after Halo 3 since there is some good stuff there in the storylines told outside of the games,” said another fan. “I think the best bet would be to just leave the current storyline as is and go either forward or backwards in the timeline and tell new stories with new characters that are mostly disconnected from what came before.”
It was confirmed yesterday that Activision would be building a new team to make the next Halo game, while Halo Studios was gutted by layoffs. It’s unclear if any of the Call of Duty studios will be assisting on the project, as Sledgehammer Games has long been rumored to be eyeing the Halo franchise. It will likely be a while before the next Halo materializes, especially if Activision is throwing everything out and starting from scratch. Only time will tell what happens, but it’ll be interesting to see what direction they take it in regardles.
Cade Onder
Freelance Writer
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN’s news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.