For the last two decades, Halo has been Xbox's flagship franchise, through thick and thin. Though Gears of War, Forza, and Fable are all iconic and beloved franchises, they simply don't hold the same influence on the wider gaming landscape that Halo has. Even despite its recent failures, Halo remains Xbox's most important franchise, albeit one in some serious need of help.
Following one of the most beloved gaming trilogies of all time and two equally-beloved spin-offs is no small task, and 343 Industries should be commended for tackling the challenge head-on. But it's no secret that 343 Industries' time with Halo has been a bit of a rollercoaster, with results ranging from good to awful and everything in between. It's clear that the Halo franchise needs some kind of major shake-up, and that could be exactly what the Activision-Blizzard acquisition achieves.
How the Activision-Blizzard Deal Can Save Halo
Announced all the way back in January 2022, Microsoft is still in the process of trying to acquire Activision-Blizzard for the unfathomable sum of $68.7 billion. Being one of the largest deals in gaming history, it's only natural that the acquisition has run into some pretty big roadblocks along the way from various financial and technology authorities around the world. But despite the setbacks, Xbox's higher-ups are sure that the deal will eventually go through, and they remain confident that it'll only benefit the entire gaming landscape more.
One of the biggest points that Xbox has continued to reiterate over the last year and a bit is that the Call of Duty franchise, potentially Activision's greatest asset, will remain available for all platforms. But while Call of Duty won't be an Xbox exclusive anytime soon, it would still technically be considered a new Xbox franchise, and its presence under the Xbox banner could alleviate a lot of pressure from Halo's tired shoulders.
With a new first-person shooter flagship franchise under its belt, Xbox might finally be able to give Halo the break it so desperately needs. This would finally give 343 Industries the opportunity to take a step back and reevaluate the entire Halo series, picking out the bits that work and completely scrapping those that don't. Halo Infinite began its life as a critically-acclaimed Halo experience, but due to its live-service approach and lack of franchise-staple modes on launch, it quickly devolved into a critically-panned mess. Taking the spotlight away from 343 Industries would give it the time and mindset it needs to ensure that fans are happy with the final product, including all the modes and features they've come to expect from a fully-fledged Halo title.
If the Activision-Blizzard deal goes through, then that also gives Xbox a whole new set of studios to use at its own discretion. While many of these studios will likely stay assigned to well-performing projects like Call of Duty and Overwatch, there'll definitely be a few studios that are going spare, and Xbox could use that to Halo's advantage. These additional studios could either be brought in to help co-develop the next Halo game with 343 Industries, or be used to make smaller-scale spin-offs in a similar vein to Halo 3: ODST or the Halo Wars series. Both of these avenues would help to alleviate the pressure currently weighing 343 Industries down, avoiding the rushed development of the last few Halo titles. Regardless of what else comes from this Activision-Blizzard acquisition, it seems likely that Halo will only benefit from the transaction.