14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's Phil Spencer has talked about Halo 4's chances to appear on the Xbox One, saying that the decision to ship it on the Xbox 360 was a great one for the company and for its 343 Industries studio.
When a new trilogy set in the Halo universe was revealed a few years ago, quite a few fans expected that the new title, Halo 4, will debut on Microsoft's rumored next-gen console.
Those hopes were dashed when the company, together with its 343 Industries studio, revealed that Halo 4 was launching on the Xbox 360, one year before the debut of the Xbox One next-gen console.
Microsoft's Phil Spencer has talked with Kotaku about the decision concerning the Halo series, shedding more light on just how the situation presented itself to the company.
"A couple of years ago we had the discussion of: 'Should we do Halo at launch and not do Halo 4 last year?'" Spencer said. "But I was committed to getting Halo 4 done last year, and there was no way we were going to turn around with 343 a full Halo game in a year. So that was the plan we set on. I feel good about that."
Spencer emphasized that Halo games would only appear from 343 Industries and that the experience with Halo 4 will help it build the future game for the Xbox One.
"Unlike some franchises that manage through 1,000 people, Halo is 343 and that team obviously has tight control," Spencer explained. "They are our Halo team. A discussion around having a Halo game at launch—a true Halo at launch, meaning like a Halo 4 or 5-size game—would have been something we'd have had to start two or three years ago."
"We had the discussion, and we thought having Halo 4 come out when it came out from 343 and having them really land their first full version of Halo that they developed internally would be great for the 360 customers, great for 343 in shipping something."
The new Halo game for the Xbox One is expected within the next 18 to 24 months, according to a previous statement from Spencer.