Halo franchise could have unlikely savior in Sony
For the first time in a very long time, a rumour has sent the gaming world into a total meltdown. It's been a hot minute since something like this happened, but it's hard to blame gaming fans for losing their heads. According to insiders, Xbox is planning on bringing its games to its competitors.
Alongside the idea that Starfield, Gears of War, and more could be hitting the PS5, others claim Microsoft's gaming arm could be entirely moving away from hardware. If these rumours are true, it could make for a dramatic shift in the gaming industry.
Equally, it could be pretty good news for some of the franchises that Xbox has under its belt but might not be using to the best of their potential. Most notably, an underappreciated icon could be rescued by the least likely force.
Halo could earn a second wind on PlayStation
Click to enlargeWe've known forever that Halo was once destined to be a game that could've set the Mac gaming world on fire before Xbox intervened and took Bungie under its wing. Now that it's an Xbox exclusive, we can barely imagine it making a home elsewhere.
Rumours of Xbox shopping its exclusives to Sony means that it could become a shocking reality, and now, there's evidence that Halo could be making it to all platforms. As reported on the GamingLeaksandRumours subreddit, a new job listing is recruiting for a Lead Game Systems Designer at 343 Industries.
The listing contains interesting implications about what looks to be the next Halo game. The ideal applicant is asked to "set clear design goals and deliverables, focusing the systems design team on achieving a high-quality, cohesive experience for all players, on all platforms."
Considering Halo has been an Xbox icon since launch, this is a pretty huge deal. Although unconfirmed, this seems to imply that, out of the blue, 343 Industries is no longer creating Halo just for Xbox. It sounds like the end of an era, although it these "all platforms" might simply mean PC and console.
What's next for Halo?
Click to enlargeThe Halo name has been in a spot of bother for some time, with Halo Infinite struggling to stay the course when it comes to 343 Industries' plan for it to become the next jumping-off point for the franchise. As 343 has suffered layoffs and staff losses, the series seriously needs something new to help keep it going.
A pivot to PS5 could certainly be this something, no matter how incredibly bizarre it all seems. A new dawn may be upon us, but until Phil Spencer offers players an update, we could be left in the dark. Who knows what's next, but it seems like a bonkers and bold frontier is coming for Halo.
