Halo developer 343 Industries has been relegated to only mainline games in the series since the release of Halo 4. However, the studio has pitched around 30 spin-offs to Xbox higher-ups that have been shut down in favour of mainline sequels like Halo Infinite.
Following the breakout success of Helldivers 2, fans of the Halo series have been adamant that a spin-off in the same vein as the popular third-person shooter should’ve been developed with the series’ ODSTs. Introduced in 2004’s Halo 2, these soldiers drop down to planets in the exact same way, fighting overwhelming forces to protect humanity.
Former Halo Senior Designer at 343 Industries Kevin Schmitt revealed that the team behind Halo 4, 5 and Infinite pitched between “20-30” ideas for games that would’ve broken away from the series’ formula. However, they were all shut down by higher ups in favour of pumping more resources into live service development.
Schmitt revealed that the studio pitched many games that were darker and more mature, including a Halo: ODST 2. Both multiplayer and single-player games were pitched, but none were ever greenlit by Xbox.
“We must have pitched 20-30 game ideas over the 12 years I was there that would have totally worked in the Halo universe,” they explained. Many SP & MP ODST themed ones. Some galaxy-spanning, some more intimate… and one that was really dark.”
While Halo Infinite Season 5 recently put the game into a great place for the future, and Halo Season 2 is much better than its atrocious predecessor, the series has fallen from its Xbox 360-era hype status. One of the reasons behind the series’ success in that era was its experimentation, with ODST and Halo: Reach departing from the main story to deliver unforgettable experiences.
One pitch that was rejected has been revealed in concept art. Prior to Halo: Infinite’s release, a space combat game called Halo: Last Star Fighter was pitched, inspired by the spaceship section in Reach. While games like Everspace have proven to be extremely popular in recent years, Xbox turned down the project.
“This was a fun one. A lot of the inspiration came from the Sabre Mission in Reach and how cool it would be to have that be a full game,” said artist Josh Kao in a now-deleted ArtStation post. “Very early on during the development, we formed groups and had a week to make playable prototypes of some of the things we would like to see in Halo.”
Instead, Halo fans have seen few spin-offs in recent years. While Halo Wars 2 was fantastic, and even set the stage for the future of the series, a gritty game where players are put in the shoes of a marine would still be an extremely interesting take for the series that has yet to be explored. Maybe one day.
Halo Infinite Multiplayer is available to play for free on Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC. The game’s single player/co-op campaign can be purchased separately or played via Xbox Game Pass.