14 DAY TRIAL // Halo Wars 2 developer Creative Assembly confirms that it's using the original Halo Wars as a basis for the sequel, instead of relying on its turn-based Total War series. As such, fans shouldn't expect that big of a departure in terms of mechanics.
Halo Wars 2 was the surprise reveal made by Microsoft during its Gamescom 2015 press event last week. Many fans took pleasure in the short but sweet teaser trailer, as well as in the scarce details mentioned by Microsoft.
Don't expect Total War: Halo from Halo Wars 2
Now, developer Creative Assembly, the studio behind the Total War saga as well as the recent Alien Isolation, talks about the upcoming Halo title with MCV and emphasizes right from the get-go that the sequel continues the original experience.
According to Creative Assembly's leader Tim Heaton, the objective is to respect the legacy of Halo Wars 1, instead of forcing Total War mechanics on the whole project, just because the studio is comfortable with its own series.
"We are absolutely using Halo Wars as a starting point. This isn’t going to be a Total War: Halo kind of game - this is Halo Wars taken to the next stage. We really rated Halo Wars. It’s something we can add to and build on. As we’re learning about the universe, we’ve been working closely with 343 Industries, and that’s been a really interesting learning experience," he explains.
In order to further emphasize this strategy, Heaton explains that most of the Halo Wars 2 team is composed of the developers who previously made Alien Isolation, as the main Total War team is busy nowadays with Total War: Warhammer.
He also adds that the team doesn't rule out releasing some Total War titles on PS4 and Xbox One in the future, seeing as how the consoles are pretty powerful and the team has experience with them, after Alien Isolation.
Halo Wars 2 is set to debut on Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One in 2016.