Some of Bungie's old guard wants to return to the Halo franchise, including Master Chief creator Marcus Lehto.
Halo is core to Xbox's DNA, and this year Microsoft celebrated 25 years of the franchise with a new remaster of the first Halo game. The shooter, Halo Campaign Evolved, has had a mixed reception. It's the first Halo to ever cross over to PlayStation, but it lacks core features like theater, multiplayer, or even Firefight--a mode that the second version of Halo CE, Halo Campaign Evolved Anniversary, shipped with.
Old-school Bungie dev Marcus Lehto tried out the new Halo remake, and while he did have some complaints, overall he approved of Campaign Evolved. "Lots of discussion about my thoughts on Halo lately. I genuinely enjoyed Campaign Evolved and think there's a lot of great work in it. I may disagree with some decisions, but I'm rooting for the team and for Halo," Lehto said on Twitter.
- Read more: Halo Campaign Evolved 'looks like a game from 2017,' original Bungie dev says
- Read more: Halo co-creator built Master Chief 9 times before finalizing iconic Combat Evolved style
- Read more: Halo Campaign Evolved offers fans a fresh start with new content and major level redesigns, including The Library
"I helped create it, and I'll always care deeply about it."
Elsewhere, in a recent interview with Game Observer, where he also discussed his ideas for new PVP and PVE elements, Lehto said he'd like to make more Halo games.
When asked about returning to Halo, Lehto said: "I would seriously like to."
This is interesting because Lehto is one of the old clandestine Halo guard who was there from the get-go, and he is now expressing interest in returning to the franchise. It's unclear whether or not this will actually happen, especially with another 1,600 layoffs on the way at Xbox, yet Microsoft's management has made some pretty drastic calls at Xbox so anything seems possible.
And he isn't the only Bungie alum talking about Halo.
Joe Staten, who returned to 343 Industries/Halo Studios to help with Halo Infinite, briefly discussed Halo 3 ODST and how he would've liked to see more spin-off Halo games:
"Super inspiring to see CD Projekt RED deliver new Witcher 3 adventures. I often think about what it would have been like if we'd kept building on Halo 3 with ODST-like expansions - new stories, innovative mechanics, etc. Would have been great fun,"Staten said on Twitter.
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As for veteran Bungie devs being conscripted and reviving the old-school Halo magic, original dev Niles Sankey wrote a long post explaining why this is unlikely to happen. It's something that all Halo fans should read, but again, the current state of Xbox feels unpredictable, so anything might be possible if it means a hopeful comeback for the Xbox brand.
