Halo 2020, A Golden Year for the Franchise

December 23, 2019 at 4:15am
By Jason Stettner

While the franchise has provided some releases in recent years, Halo is gearing up for a golden 2020 with the next big entry and some smaller steps along the way. Starting with the end of 2019, Halo: The Master Chief Collection graced PC with its presence.

A release not only on the Windows Store, but one that also arrived on Steam. A big shift in the way Microsoft published games are being sold, and this will lead right into Halo Infinite at the end of 2020. Along the way players on PC will get to see all of the core Halo games release into the collection throughout the year.

This started with Halo Reach, which was also available on Xbox One and essentially completed the Master Chief Collection for that platform. Going back to PC, Combat Evolved is next addition and the games will shuffle in every couple of months following that.

This is a great way to build up the fan base, as they’re prepared for the next big entry. A game that will be available for PC and consoles including the entire currently supported Xbox One family. Further on the console side of things there’s slightly less of a build-up, but a number of updates for MCC will carry players until the next generation Xbox Series X that will premiere with Halo Infinite. It’ll be a big deal for that platform, and mirror the original Xbox’s release back in the day.

This is all leading towards a powerful display of what the franchise can deliver, as it builds hype and excitement for what’s to come. It’s been a calm storm that’s been building as so many years have passed since Halo 5: Guardians and now the right pieces are set in motion. They’re using a mix of nostalgia for Halo Infinite along with the promise of a powerful new Slipspace Engine to power that vision. Not only are players getting a lot of Halo provided to them, the community content is also being built up. This was largely backed by the inclusion of past maps from file shares of the older Halo games into MCC which is great to see and almost magical in nature.

That will be pushed further on PC when Forge and Theater arrive there. Not only will great maps be built, that community can take it further with mod support. We’ve already seen some great mods and I can’t wait to see what’s done within the additional Halo titles once they release there as Reach is likely to get some really neat things. This should all cumulate towards one epic, and golden year for the franchise. The series has always done well, and by pushing some of the older releases with enhancements to new audiences they’re priming the gaming community for that next big step.

It’s definitely a good time to be a Halo fan, especially after the initial launch of the collection and the quieter generation for the series. It should be an interesting year, and there’s a lot riding on the success of the upcoming game. It will have a lot of pressure being the first main entry in years while also having the weight of needing to be something that can launch the brand into the next generation. On top of that, there are many that are very critical of the direction the franchise has taken. It’s hard to please everyone, and there will probably be even more pressure with the added PC side to the formula.

Whatever the case, I’m really excited to see where this series will go over the next year. To see the games arrive on PC, and then see Halo Infinite in action which I feel will likely be at E3 2020 or a smaller spring type of event. A game that’s still a big mystery at this point despite having trailers available. It’ll be interesting to see where the narrative heads, what sort of campaign will be present and how will it tie into what’s come before? Additionally, what sort of multiplayer will be there and how will Forge evolve this time around? Will Firefight return, so many unanswered questions and a lot of waiting time.

It’s exciting to see, and hopefully they do deliver on Halo as this could very well be a big launching point for the series going forward as it expands its fan base on PC and builds excitement towards the future of gaming. You can read our review of the Halo: MCC below or check out the general franchise hub for additional coverage of the overall series.

Read our Halo: MCC Review
View our Halo Hub