14 DAY TRIAL // Halo was a great game for Microsoft; it single-handedly sold the original Xbox and marked the beginning of a great franchise for the console. It made Xbox Live popular and convinced Microsoft to acquire the studio which, until then, developed games for Macintosh. It became known as the Xbox's best game, with the sequel breaking all sales records at that time, enjoying a huge amount of popularity with the fans, and earning them the nickname “Halo Nation”. The third installment of the game and the conclusion of Master Chief's trilogy of adventures brought overwhelming success, having made 170 million dollars in the first 24 hours. Not only did it sell well but it also gave the Xbox 360 the push it needed in sales and made it the most popular console at that time.
It was a great franchise for Microsoft and their console, but after Halo 3 and the departure of Bungie Studios, things weren't looking so good. But Microsoft acted quickly and acquired all the intellectual rights to the Halo universe and is currently developing several other projects based on them. Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently declared that “There are more than two or three teams building Halo games right now, some of them we will own, some of them we won't”.
The projects mentioned are undoubtedly the confirmed Halo Wars, which is set to appear at the beginning of the next year, and the Halo Chronicles, which is currently developed by Peter Jackson's studio. Other rumored projects which are set to be linked to the Halo universe are one yet unnamed game under development by Bungie Studios and the presumed Halo 4 title, which will be launched with Microsoft's next console.
All these projects combined with several Hollywood producers that have manifested an interest in a possible Halo-based movie will definitely make sure that this game is still part of our lives for the next few years. Who knows, maybe it will end up like Mario for Nintendo, let's just hope that the games under development will live up to the franchise's reputation.