XBOX Could Revitalize Halo With Smaller Retro-Style Games, Says Former Bungie Developer

These past few years have seen a lot of talk about the future of Halo and the steps XBOX needs to take regarding it. Apparently, several Halo games are currently being developed, including Halo 7, which many people think is in development, along with another Halo game focused on multiplayer gameplay, specifically targeted at the next generation of players.

Additionally, some prior concepts related to Halo were mentioned in various reports. Among other things, some of those canceled pitches were Halo Infinite’s space flight combat game, a Mega Bloks-based Halo game, an idea based on the Flood game, and, lastly, a Halo battle royale game. These canceled pitches have ultimately evolved into a much broader discussion about whether XBOX has done justice to the Halo universe to date.

The debate took on greater significance following remarks by former Bungie Halo 3 and Reach developer Niles Sankey.

Sankey was responsible for developing some of the famous space-fight scenes in the Halo games. In discussing the way forward for the franchise, Sankey opined that perhaps the best opportunity XBOX might be presented with would not be in pursuing large-scale productions. 

Rather, Sankey feels the focus should be on how XBOX should change its approach to developing Halo games altogether. Sankey further stated that were he given full authority over the franchise, he would have formed an independent team within his company to develop small-scale Halo games based on the 1990s/early 2000s era of gaming.

According to him, modern gamers seem to be interested in titles similar to those developed during that period rather than in big-budget, realistic movies. It is evident even in the industry's trends. There continues to be demand for indie titles with old-school graphics and less intensive processes, since gamers prefer direct, straightforward games rather than those with too many systems and lengthy development times.

According to Sankey, XBOX was in a very special position given that it had one of the biggest gaming franchises from that generation. In his opinion, the launch of Halo 3 back in 2007 would always go down in history as one of the gaming industry’s golden eras. This era was characterized by good gameplay, a strong online community, and smaller studios.

Instead of striving to modernize nostalgia through large-scale remakes or costly reboots, Sankey advises the company to embrace nostalgia fully.

He even proposed establishing an independent studio called, for example, “Spartan 2 Team,” whose sole purpose was developing new Halo video games that would consciously reflect the aesthetics of the Xbox 360 generation. This would involve not only using retro-style visuals characteristic of the late 2000s but also prioritizing game mechanics over graphic fidelity.

Sankey believes this strategy would enable Halo developers to work faster and more freely without dealing with issues common to modern game studios. The concept, according to him, is a “love letter” to classic video games, in which development followed the same design philosophy as the Bungie era and the early Halo games.

Sankey highlighted the expansion of AAA development as one of the most important factors he considered. Sankey pointed out that between 2010 and 2015, the development process markedly differed as development evolved for greater realism and more elaborate world-building. With such visuals, studios required many more people working on their projects just to meet production requirements.

As per Sankey's account, for instance, while Bungie had only about 120 employees at Reach, the studio grew to include about 700 people by the time it left Bungie in 2015. Although he did not mention Bungie, Bungie noted how difficult it is for a company to stay close-knit in a close-knit environment after reaching that many people.

Smaller groups will be able to communicate more effectively because they don’t have multiple levels of management. In his view, this is one of the reasons why indie games have been doing so well. It is possible to notice small teams making creative decisions that big publishers make, and all because the financial pressures are completely different.

The failure of an AAA game can cost millions of dollars, which is why studios have to be much more careful.

This, according to Sankey, is happening with XBOX. He talked about a scene that the developers are considering as only a few “options, " since every development project involves very large teams working for many years. This type of scenario makes it hard to develop innovations, especially when you have a franchise with as much untapped potential as Halo has.

As an alternative to making just big titles, Sankey suggested making smaller Halo games developed by teams consisting of about 50 people. In this way, the developers would have the opportunity to experiment with entirely different ideas for games, mechanics, and gameplay styles without the same constraints associated with current-day megabudgets.

He cited the modding community, further confirming a strong interest in this kind of game. The example that he cited included mods developed by Rejected Shotguns, including the one titled “Permafrost”. Sankey suggested that a mod of that nature is the type of Halo experience that XBOX can create by focusing on a "vintage" approach to the game.

He also highlighted the ongoing gap between fan-made Halo projects and official development.

As he said, there are many fan-made Halo projects that embody the nostalgia players have been craving for years. Another example he used of frigates flying through the Long Night of Solace, explaining that such moments can be far more enjoyable than anything in official Halo games.

Each time he came across Halo fan-made community projects that showed ambition, he found it increasingly difficult to fathom why XBOX was not at least experimenting with these concepts itself. Though acknowledging that he didn’t know the limitations within the corporation, he kept pointing out the difficulty of the matter, since it seemed so clear to him.

At the same time, he also addressed the issue of nostalgia projects in our days. According to him, modern firms attempted to revive the feel of the early Halo games while keeping everything large-scale, costly, and graphically impressive. Here comes the dual problem. The first problem is that creating modern AAA games is very costly, time-consuming, and highly risky.

Developers get bigger, production becomes much longer, and publishers become less likely to approve innovative ideas, because any mistake may result in huge losses. Another concern for the fans themselves. Sankey said that developers sometimes make too many changes without revitalizing their classic titles, resulting in conflict with the fanbase.

This was illustrated by discussions about sprints, art style, and the aesthetics of Forerunner architecture. In trying to make everything more elegant or cinematic, developers may unintentionally cause disagreements among veteran Halo players.

As Sankey sees it, XBOX is actually manufacturing issues out of nowhere simply because they are modernizing nostalgia rather than sticking with the old design approach.

He suggests the team can work on the next big AAA release, while another team focuses solely on developing retro-style Halo projects. He is certainly not opposed to modern big-budget titles; rather, he thinks that they must definitely continue. Nevertheless, the brand is large enough to support several approaches.

During their discussion, Sankey also touched on some ideas that Bungie reportedly never had enough time to explore before switching focus to Destiny. For instance, one such notion concerns drivable Scarabs. He wondered why the fans had rarely observed Scarabs in any major missions over the last few years, while they were a key element of battle in the old days of Bungie.

Moreover, he noted the absence of missions with Sabers as well as epic space fights in later games. As Sankey said, all these notions could still be developed in the next generation of Halo games. In his opinion, perhaps one of the strongest indications of squandered talent is that modders keep making some of the most interesting Halo content, even as official endeavors tread far more carefully.

At the close of the conversation, Samade made it clear that, rather than a specific proposal, his proposal was for an entirely different approach to creating games in the franchise. Instead of endlessly pursuing increased budgets and production values, he thinks XBOX needs to develop Halo games that reflect the original character that resonated with players.

In doing so, he believes he can achieve that greater creative freedom, along with more frequent releases and exploration of concepts that have no hope of seeing the light of day at the moment. Time will tell if XBOX will take such an approach in the future, though discussions about Halo continue to grow, as more developers and fans alike realize its potential.