Halo Reclaimer Trilogy Becomes a Saga

102
Lee Bradley

Halo 4 marked the beginning of the Reclaimer storyline and the beginning of 343 Industries’ time in charge of Microsoft’s biggest franchise.

Yet while this storyline was initially envisaged as a trilogy, it has now evolved into something else. Something bigger.

Speaking to GameSpot, Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer said that the Xbox Halo game debuted at E3 (which has yet to receive a proper name) is a “legitimate” Halo title.

"It is the next Halo game that we are working on," he said. "We will talk more about the story arc in the game and how it plays out; we've got more time to talk about that."

"But having [producer Bonnie Ross] come out and announce the game, making sure people know it's a legitimate version of Halo coming out, and when it's coming out, and features that they're focused on, we thought was...important."

More than just a “legitimate” Halo game and the first appearance from Master Chief on Xbox One, however, the latest entry sees the series broaden its scope.

"While we originally said trilogy,” said Spencer, we've actually expanded this to more of a saga, so we don't want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy."

You can watch the announcement trailer for Halo on Xbox One below. The game is out in 2014.

Comments
102
  • Does that milk taste sweet? Seriously though they say it's because they don't want to limit the story, but it's probably because they don't wan to go to the trouble of creating a new story arc when they can drag this one on as long as they can. (That is of course all guess work)
  • So this basically should have been Halo 5 but so they don't have to do Halo 5 yet they've decided on not doing a trilogy?
  • I really love the Halo franchise but enough is enough, please no more Chief after Halo 6
  • so its gonna be like halo 4 ODST or something (not odst but like an addon) i thought thats what spartan ops was for.. but oh well im actually intrested to see what happens with chief I also remember a while back 343 said they were going to continue to make halo for another 10 years so... yeah maybe they can make more than just the orginal 3. time will tell
  • I find it ironic that my ad on top of the page is 'Milk every moment'.
  • @2 Don't see how the number at the end of a title makes any difference whatsoever. But yaknow its lame to not be on that hate bandwagon isn't it... OT: More halo can never be a bad thing, gimme moar!
  • "limit the story"... No that's a BS excuse for you wanting to milk more out of what Bungie started in 2001. How about you stop being lazy and come up with new IP's aside from just Halo. Yes, Halo is awesome, but it's been 12 years man. Get some new stuff pumping before it becomes fatigued for all of us.
  • I've never understood our obsession with the idea of a "trilogy." The need to make things into three that never should be -- I'm looking at you, "Godfather trilogy" -- always struck me as a purely money-making idea which has rarely made for good storytelling. That being said, I like the idea of a "saga", even though it it actually implies more of a cash-grab on the part of the publishers. Done right, a saga can have multiple storytelling opportunities that make the whole better. Done wrong, though, you get a lot of "noise" -- i.e. the Star Wars "extended universe."
  • Shocked.
  • Queue haters accusing MS of milking the franchise, not that I'd blame them for saying that. Though of course if this was a book trilogy being expanded into a saga then it'd be considered a good thing (as long as the story or world wasn't ruined). Strange isn't it?
  • I know most will disagree but i'm pretty bored with Master Chief, i'd personally love a full Halo game as the Arbiter. check out what he's been up to with the Elites then end it with him meeting back up to save Chief's butt for the next game
  • I've loved Halo very, very much ever since 2001. I'm a huge fan of it's games and it's lore. But enough is enough...
  • LOL @ "Halo is awesome but it's been 12 years...." compared to Mario, Mega Man, Castlevania, Resident Evil, hell even Duke Nukem - Halo is still "young" - as long as the story is enjoyable and the gameplay is fun, why not keep releasing more Halo games?
  • Personally think it is a great idea...isnt COD doing this with each of their series. Given I do hate most of the COD games (except MW AND MW2), but Halo has a much deeper story than most shooters, can't wait to see what they can do with it.... OT: WHAT THE F*** WAS THAT THING!? new promethean warship?!?! (or did the Reapers from Mass Effect some how get involved?!)
  • im not going to complain that they have extended this from more than a trilogy as personally i love halo games halo 3 being my favourite but halo 4 was still great. my one concern is that they dont start going down the road of the yearly releases like cod and assassins creed as then halo for me will get boring very quickly
  • I definitely don't want Halo to end. But I do want the Masterchief story to end after 6 games. Don't drag this on. This is the problem with a lot of tv shows. It's cool that we get more story, but if you're just scraping for ideas, it gets a bit boring and repetitive. Just end Masterchief with a trilogy and make a new story set in the Halo universe. There has to be some other interesting characters and events.
  • #5: Please look up the definition of 'ironic' before using it in public and looking foolish. Not just you. EVERYBODY.
  • Halo is still the best shooting franchise out there....sorry COD fanboys
  • Sweet. Another article to prove Microsoft/343 are out for money off an overkilled series.
  • AKA "Money, money, money, money, money!" I'm becoming more and more comfortable with leaving Halo when I move to Playstation. Destiny here I come!
  • Halo series is great. But Halo 5 need 10 hours or more story campaign. Not 3 to 6 hours in many series of Halo. Story need longer and give lots of more storytelling for Universe of Halo. :) Halo 4 is one of best games but Story is very very shorter. Need longer this time.
  • Just give me halo 2 anniversary, halo 4 was nothing special, but then again im one of the rare few that liked reach so what do i know lol
  • Obviously its a legitimate game, even half decent halo fans know that chief is holding the chip cortana was held on, with no cortana in it. And he's obviously in a desert planet in the middle of no where searching for a way to bring her back. Hence the ancient technology he finds. There fore this takes place immediately after the 4th one and is a legitimate 5th halo. And for all those who think it could take place decades later, no! Chief could never accept losing cortana. They made that very clear during the 4th one. He would not wait to save her. He will put her as his #1 priority. For she is one of the only people that he truly loves.
  • At least its not like final fantasy. XXIIV or whatever Just a joke :) Seriously though if the quality doesn't go down and they keep telling g quality story like H4 then I'm in for 2014. I'll be buying a Xbox One just for that.
  • @23 I agree, this must be weeks or days later simply because of that fact. I couldn't see him letting go either she is his only friend left.
  • Halo 4 was average so please no, just leave it
  • I personally loved Halo 4 and as long as the next game is as good and interesting I'll get it, though the length of the story need increasing...a lot...
  • I don't really care how many Halo titles they make with Master Chief in it, as long as one them has him without that damn helmet on. He must be self conscious about his appearance.
  • I liked Halo 4, loved ODST.
  • As much as I love Halo, it'll be dead when the Xbone fails. I bought a 360 just for Halo 3 but thanks to Microsoft's policies and 343's problems with Halo 4, I won't be touching it.
  • WTF is a saga? Does that mean over 10 titles with this storyline, heh pass.
  • Personally I would like to see some Halo games pre-covenant war. Spartan Blue Team during the insurrection would be badass, would still have the Chief and would be something new so people could stop bitching.
  • They started calling it a "saga" since they announced Halo 4. This isn't news. :/
  • Halo Forever
  • corporations forget that it was the initial gamble on bringing the FIRST iteration of a game into the world that has spawned such success, why so scared to try something new again? M$ are so short sighted like Activision they find a golden ticket and milk it dry, how about looking at devs like naughty dog and rocksteady or R*. not saying a new halo is a bad thing but fuck me make some new exclusives, xbox + 360 was full of em, forza, gears, halo yet its these 3 that are STILL carrying xbox through their 3rd gen of consoles.......take a risk M$ u aint exactly short of money
  • I hated the story for Halo 4. "Go here, kill these pain in the ass new enemies then press a button." For 6 hours! I honestly wouldn't care if they finished Chief's story now. Everyone knows it's just because they know Halo will ALWAYS sell well.
  • This reminds me of when they announced they already had release dates for The Amazing spiderman films #3 and #4 mapped out a few days ago. The reaction to that was somewhat lukewarm from some parties as well. Seriously, wouldn't it be wise to see how the next iterations sales go before announcing this? Especially given the Xbox:One is in somewhat of a precarious position market-wise.
  • I've been a hardcore 360 fan since 07 when Halo 3 came out. I was so hardcore that i refused to purchase the ps3 at all simply because i was in high school and full of pride.now that i look back i see that Halo is the major reason why i got the 360. I have picked up every halo up to date. To be honest though im all haloed out and need a break. Im going to pick up the PS4 next because i feel like it will be a whole new experience simply because sony has exclusive that i have been dying to play. I will pick up an xbox one eventually just not right away
  • yeah plz more halo nonsense...
  • If they can just scrap the multiplayer and work on making a 20-30 hour campaign (which still includes co-op), then I would be fine with that. It's the multiplayer that I really don't care for anymore with this series since Reach and 4 destroyed it. If they want they could just release the multiplayer on a separate disc or something.
  • I never could understand the reach bashing, best in the series in my opinion.
  • @30 YES!!! Someone esle that like ODST, It's up there on my list of favorite Halo games right behind my fav Halo 2 and before Reach (yes I liked reach too) It would be amazing if they made another ODST game... I remember some grumbling along time ago about a rumored sequel game called ODST Chronicles and the rumors had some pretty awesome features listed... I will dream I suppose... Respawn... and Halo On... ;)
  • ...So for people who don't know pause at 1:56
  • More Halo is always a good thing. Doesn't look like we're gonna be getting a Halo 2: Anniversary if there working on this, idk maybe I'm wrong and they'll pleasantly surprise us.
  • M$
  • I expect a yearly Halo release at some point soon after the Xbox One releases. Micro$oft is going to try to whore this franchise into the ground even more than they already are. I'm done with this series after Halo 4. I still want to know about the story, but that's what Youtube videos are for.
  • Nice try to copy Bungie, 343. Dont you have your own ideas?
  • this is a load of crap. The turned it into a saga, not because "they didn't want to limit the story", but because they wanted to have tons of Halo games to make money off. They'll be coming out yearly soon. because that's what is all about at Microsoft, MONEY MONEY MONEY.
  • @49 Every company is about money you dipshit. Name one publisher that ISN'T trying to make more money right now.
  • @42, you honestly think Halo Reach had a good story? You must have not read Nylund's "The Fall of Reach" then. That, and the story within the game itself was just downright awful, as were the characters.
  • @1 Best milk I have had, guess it's time for me to buy some more. ;) Ok Halo 4 may not have been perfect but the universe is seriously interesting to me.
  • Really? REALLY?!! What's with all the hate about someone wanting to make money? Accusing 343 of "copying" Bungie?! Hello, the reins were handed over to them... they didn't steal it! You idiots would probably bitch about another Halo game - even if it were free! Stop whining about it. If you don't like the game - DON'T PLAY IT! There are TONS of people who love the game. Maybe you used to, but you've grown tired of it? Shut the fuck up and walk away! I love all the Halo games (except Halo Wars... and let's not get into that one). I also loved the side story that was "Halo 3: ODST" (I also loved the VERY original soundtrack for it, which I bought)!
  • @51 Hey I liked Jorge. To me, he was the only redeeming factor of Reach.
  • @51 nope have never read a single halo book and don't intend to, I take the games as they are, and I had more fun playing through reach then I did most of the other Halo games....and Jun was much cooler then Jorge :)
  • @55, Ahh well that makes sense. Didn't mean to personally attack you, I've just come to realize that most people who liked the series did the books. As much as I didn't for the game, I agree that Jun was the best.
  • As long as the content is good, keep it coming. That said, when it starts to sink, just ride that wave.
  • nope didn't take it as an attack, I've always known the books do a lot more to tell the story then the games. which always kind of bugged me to be honest, I wish the stories told themselves as you played them and didn't need to read a dozen novels to actually get most of it, same with a series like Gears of War where they give you nothing to go on in the actual games themselves
  • So why is this a bad thing really? I think Microsoft is going to keep up with its rule of Gears of War 1 year and Halo the next then Gears again and Halo again rinse and repeat. As long as they keep making the games good who cares how many they make. Like Assassin's Creed makes a new game every year but they r all worth playing. So call it miking but as long as they don't become like COD making the same game every year with a different name. This probably has something to do with Bungie's new shooter Destiny because Bungie has stated they plan on making quite a few Destiny games, and as Microsoft and Activision are business rivals so to compete with Destiny Microsoft is using their most successful and hottest selling series: Halo...
  • omg!master chief's middle finger is huge. maybe he has been telling microsoft "fuck you, im tired of coming out in games. i want to retire already!"
  • i really love halo it is my favorite game but this has got to end some time, they better stop soon before they ruin the whole series.
  • @61 i agree. they just want more money. :/
  • Are we going to get Halo 2 Anniversary anytime soon ?
  • @3 shut up. Master Chief is one of the most badass characters to ever hit games. And I couldn't care less on how many games he'll be in. Because Master Chief is a fucking badass motherfucker!
  • M$ doesn't want to limit their income. ;)
  • Okay, that commercial didn't make sense. Those suits are made to withstand damn near anything, including the heat from the sun and desert, why cover it, that provides no benefits at all, it just adds that tiny bit of extra weight, doesn't hide you or anything, shit was useless. I was hoping he wouldn't be wearing his armor and had been discharged from the military finally and then boom now he's back since aliens attacked him... but nooooooooooooooo... senseless commercial is senseless.
  • @ 11 i agree i would love to see arbiter return want to know what happened to that connection at the end of halo 3
  • They're making more Halo games? Holy big surprise Batman! Anybody see this coming? That was the best news I've heard since I found out there were more COD games coming!
  • Im kinda happy that Halo gets to be more than a trilogy, but it really could have just ended were it was and I would still be satisfied. Anyway, this is good news to Halo fans.
  • Isn't it funny that people don't bitch so much about Ubi milking Assassin's Creed every single year, but when someone else does it, better watch out, the haters will undoubtedly come out of the walls. I for one don't mind a Halo coming out maybe every 2 to 3 years. I've liked every Halo game to date, and yes, that includes ODST.
  • you must not read any assassin's creed articles, that fact is mentioned dozens of times per story
  • @1 Bitter sweet @70 actually they do. Assassins creed 3 articles had a lot of it for a while. Hell for a while the forums had its fair share of those kind of posts. Personally I still need to play Halo 4...
  • not hating on master chief but it'd be cool to start out playing as a marine and work your way up through a different view. Eventually crossing paths with M.C. where the story line can go two ways and let the game choose the path. if anything it'll build characters for an eventual movie.
  • Sorry 343 you had your chance and blew it in my eyes. In my opinion halo 4 was abysmal and was easily the worst in the series and also the first halo ive ever traded in. At least i have titanfall to look forward to.
  • Sorry for double post but @3 i completely agree there isnt much more to show of the chief really and it would be interesting to see what would happen to the morale of the UNSC troops if he were to die.
  • Lol, one of the main reasons a lot of people were upset with Halo 4 was because the MP sucked. There's no denying that is didn't hold up to the standards of Halo 2 and 3. The story was fantastic though. Seems a lot of people just play Halo for the MP.
  • Halo 3 had a pretty decent story, even if a little well tread. I felt they did it well, and MC & the Arbiter worked well together. Halo 4 pretty much ignored all of that, and decided to go for the most cliched of plot lines (from the first teaser it was obvious they were killing off Cortana), and the rest of the story was incoherent, apparently because they wanted people to have to read a bunch of books to have any remote idea as to what was happening. The campaign was the worst in my opinion of all Halo games, as it got really really cheap especially at the end. The multiplayer removed some great Halo features, and while the game looked better than any other Halo, it frustrated me more than even CoD games. I do like the idea of comment #73, where you start off as Private Nobody and (my idea) level up and build your character the way you want to, so while your character could be as good as MC in some areas, MC will still be far better in every other area. As a New Game+ feature, once you beat the game on second hardest difficulty and do a few other things, you get to play the game as MC on the hardest difficulty.
  • Halo 4.5 find halsey
  • @29 NO. The helmet is part of the mystery and I never want to see Master Chief's face. They should have never showed as much as they did in Halo 4. OT With the power of The Cloud do they actually need to make more than one game for the One? Can't they make the entire universe and fly from planet to planet, doing missions for the entire life cycle of the One? I'd much rather have that than AI learning how I drive in Forza to continue driving MY CAR when I'm offline...
  • @ 53....OHHH Crybaby, did someone say something negativ about your holy fu*** Halo, WUHUUU... Go dien B. This is my opinion. I like Halo, thats just melking a cow, not more and 343 FAILED!!!! Sp what?
  • Halo 2, your in my heart forever.
  • I actually agree with #3. I'd like to see The Chief mentor a new spartan or soldier, and pass the spiritual torch before they play him out. They can have him as a supporting character or send him out with a bang, or even give him a break and showcase another spartan. Flesh out the universe ect. Change isn't a bad concept, neither are new ideas.
  • Microsoft doesn't want to limit the cash.
  • @75 It wouldn't be a huge blow as they already thought he was dead for years before the found him and by that time the Spartan IV program was up and running turn just about everyone into a Spartans :P I love Halo... But the whole premise of the Spartan IVs blow... Mostly because I feel like that is why you don't see any ODST in Halo 4... The true bad arses of the universe they have not so fancy armor and no surgical enhancements and they get the job done. Please M$ make an ODST sequel with some meat to it and I will rain my money down on you since that's what you want.
  • Sadly Halo 4 was the worst of the series. But sometimes that definition is not quite representative when it was still a 7/8 out of 10 kind of game were the others were 9 or 10's. Lets hope 343 do better with the scope of the Single player this time. Hopefully unlike gears and COD the franchise is quite ruined yet.
  • Correction - Hopefully unlike gears and COD the franchise isn't quite ruined yet.
  • i think they are milking it for all they can, i love halo and am happy to see more released but i think each one needs to be done with a few years in between. think this game will definitely about chiefs search for a way to restore cortana. aslong as they never show his face or kill him (spartans never die) im happy. i see alot of people want a new character to play as but i dont think halo would be halo if you didnt play as chief.
  • Why the hell has #3 been downvoted so much?! It's a perfectly legitimate point! I love the Halo franchise, especially the core games (4 was my favourite so far), but you can't deny that it's being milked. I mean, it's still far from becoming an annual thing like Call of Duty (or even Assassin's Creed now) where they pretty much throw them out without changing a whole lot - don't get me wrong, I like both of those franchises, but they are both cash cows - but it's still clear that they're really just thinking about the money, even though they are at least able to tell a good story at the same time.
  • I'm sure Microsoft wants as much money as it can get, but I personally enjoyed the story in halo 4 and am looking forward to the next one. I wasn't a fan of the spinoffs but thoroughly enjoyed the core games.
  • keep them coming as long as the story and the gameplay remain great. keep them coming
  • More Halo is always good!
  • Another example of whoring a game title.
  • @#23 honestly awesome response....really truly said what i was thining therefore i have to come up with something else..... well....im kind of excited fuck the milking. everybdy just wants to get the story over and move one, you want that go back to CoD! i mean come on its fuckin halo. a game that has already been apart of 1/3 of my life. not to mention half or more of most of youse guys lives. i hope they milk it, the books and comics and short movies have soooo much more to offer. it would be nice if they did they same series only, thru the eyes of the promethians, up to meeting and be able to play as, the covenant. do more halo wars, and yes some side games like ODST (as another force of characters, like other spartans weve met in prior games, hell...maybe even the marines....fuck it right!?) but seriously guys if your hating on the franchise, game or the "milking" i hear Timeshift had no sequels.
  • to be frank, this will be probably the only game to get me to buy an xbox one. im already set on PS4. going to preorder next week. after 7 years of live, it is time to say goodbye.
  • We want the story to move forward, the problem with not having an endpoint is that the story can just meander along forever, not really going anywhere as long as it sells. I can totally understand wanting your favorite game series to continue, but getting that at the expense of content isn't a good trade.
  • I love halo and always will, but people at 343 need to focus making this something like what Halo: CE did for FPS and in gaming in general. I love Halo and hope one day halo will have another Game of the year.
  • As long as they improve the story, thought Halo 4 had the worst one compared to the others. I thought the multiplayer was great, but not sure what i think about them making so many games.
  • I guess I'm in the minority but I'm really excited for this...I just hope, if it's continuing the story, that it turns out to be Halo 5
  • m$
  • so Im guessing they've had the trilogy all figured out . jam packed games.... then someone in charge said hey instead of three really big great games lets turn it into 5, get some stupid pointless filler missions, or extra waves of baddies and blam an extra 100million in revenue from the stupid consumers
  • Oh man, the backstory's confusing enough as it is!
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