Frank O’Connor, Halo’s Franchise Creative Director for nearly 20 years at 343 Industries/Halo Studios (who, fun fact, was once my colleague at Official Xbox Magazine), has weighed in on Halo’s future at Activision, suggesting three viable paths forward for Xbox’s former biggest franchise.
O’Connor, who moved on from 343 Industries in 2023, was responding to a post on LinkedIn by former Xbox Social Media Manager of Executive Communications Genevieve Harrison about Halo’s move to Activision. Harrison was discussing how Activision might approach Halo, and said in part, “Talent is not a SharePoint folder you drag from /Call of Duty into /Halo and wait for the little green checkmark. What Activision does know how to do is run the absolute hell out of a giant franchise. Maybe that operational discipline is exactly what Halo needs. But Activision isn’t riding in to save Xbox either. Microsoft paid $68.7 billion for Activision Blizzard. Activision is Xbox. Maybe it works. I hope it does because I’d love another great Halo game.”
O’Connor, who started on the Halo franchise when he left Official Xbox Magazine to join Bungie during Halo 2’s development, replied with his thoughts on how the series’s next step at its new developer and publisher might go. “There are 3 paths – any one of which COULD be successful,” he said. “None of these are easy, guaranteed or necessarily viable: 1. Make a “classic” Halo movement/sandbox/shooter experience tailored to a core audience & scaled to be successful with that core audience and attractive to a broader one so it can grow (not to mention obvious fact that Halo MP is better w. more people playing, by mathematical default).
“2. Make something new, modern that >reinvents< the game/universe in a surprising but fantastic way. An action/sandbox game (maybe it’s a new take on the FPS, maybe it’s an action RPG but it’s fundamentally different) and succeeds with a combination of strong story, IP use and gets a small head start based on curiosity or loyalty.
“3. Translate Halo IP and sandbox into the ATVI comfort zone. Use the player, progression and business models that are proven to work and craft a big annual or semi-annual spectacle and constant content. Pro-Tip: Do NOT tie it to hardware/services launch cycles, do not try to force it into a shape (or aging platform) that it can’t fit and do NOT abandon sandbox. Pro-Pro-Tip: Hire Bungie, Halo Studios and other laid off folk who are bursting w. talent and ideas that got nerfed or shut down over the years.”
Halo Studios went through a rebranding effort (from 343 Industries), a leadership shakeup, and a pivot to Unreal Engine as its underlying game technology in 2024, and shipped the multiplayer-less remake of the original Halo, called Halo: Campaign Evolved, earlier this year. However, the studio was reportedly years away on its next mainline Halo project ahead of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Xbox COO Matt Booty’s decision to hand Halo to the House of Call of Duty. I’ve since written about whether or not Activision can save Halo, but I’m not as convinced on the creative side, while my colleague Matt Purslow wrote about how, no matter what, Halo must go beyond Bungie’s original template.