Few video game characters can claim to be as popular as Master Chief. The poster child of Halo, and possibly even the FPS genre, he's seen his fair share of action over the course of his twenty-plus year run. Halo Infinite is just a few months away, and will see the next chapter of Spartan 117's saga. With that new entry, it's time for Master Chief's journey to end.
That's not to say that Master Chief needs to meet a brutal end. The sendoff for Master Chief doesn't even need to include his death– any Halo lore buff will know that Spartans don't die, they just go MIA. In fact, it could quite literally be Master Chief going MIA, the UNSC collectively agreeing to let him live out his days on a Halo ring after saving humanity over and over again.
Why Master Chief Deserves to Retire
Master Chief has, both in the context of the Halo universe and in service to video games as a whole, gone above and beyond to fulfill his duty. Halo: Combat Evolved remains a significant junction point for FPS games, revitalizing the genre and proving that a linear shooter can incorporate a story worth telling. Gamers feel its influence today in more ways than they realize, from story structure to level design and beyond.
In the context of Halo's story, Master Chief is responsible for keeping Earth protected and Humanity alive. He's been the shield keeping the Covenant, Flood, and Prometheans at bay, the only dings to his reputation being his attachment to Cortana, his AI companion that's something of a loose end by the time that credits roll in Halo 5. Of course, that's a story for another day, and something that Halo Infinite will ideally tie a neat bow on.
The point is, Master Chief has served the games industry for more than twenty years now. And while it isn't uncommon to see video game characters make appearances well beyond that – looking at you, Mario – Master Chief has gone from a stalwart hero to a broken-down old soldier. A capable one, yes, but one that's become increasingly haunted by the devastation wrought by the Human-Covenant war. It's time, then, to move on – for the games industry and to do right by the character.
How Halo Can Continue
Master Chief being out of the picture doesn't mean that the Halo games have to come to an end. With a war spanning an entire galaxy, surely there are still stories to tell that don't rely solely on Master Chief. Just looking at the mountain of Halo books is a clear indicator of this, as they almost all have the potential to be adapted into their own video games. Not to mention, Halo's mythos is far more robust than it's given credit for, leaving plenty of room for original tales.
The logical answer would be to turn Halo into something of an anthology series, picking stories from both Human and Covenant perspectives to retell. There can be intersections between those stories, allowing developer 343 Industries to pay homage to what's come before, but it allows for narrative freedom while at the same time maintaining the core identity of the franchise. It works on every level, and it gives fans more of what they want.
Not to mention, ditching the current saga's linearity allows players to go back in time. The original Halo games, for one reason or another, never saw Master Chief fight alongside another Spartan, waiting until Halo 4 to show what the super soldiers have become. While there are explanations for that scattered throughout the lore, Spartans are essentially raised together from a young age, creating a tight-knight camaraderie between them.
Turning Halo into an anthology series would allow 343 Industries to capitalize on that and a lot more. Even the stories of Human rebellions in the outer colonies, which Spartans were originally created to combat, would be ripe for the picking. It opens the door to introduce new protagonists, some of whom hardcore fans will already be familiar with, and utilize them to the fullest extent. They don't have to be Spartans, either. The stories could come from just about any perspective.
It's Worked Before
The main thing to consider is that Halo has subtly dipped its toes into an anthology style a few times in the past, most notably with Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach. While they both offer the same core gameplay that the Halo franchise is known for, whereas a proper anthology series could incorporate something like horror elements, they take slices of new stories and present them without the weight of Master Chief.
Both games are often praised for their characters, with Halo 3: ODST telling the story of a squad of the UNSC's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers between the events of Halo 2 and Halo 3, while Halo: Reach tells the story of Spartan-IIIs, called Noble team, during the Covenant invasion of the planet Reach. These narrative slices present new stories from the Halo mythos with the characters to back them – and both succeed in large part because of the deviation from Master Chief's character.
Halo 5 introduced a new squad of Spartans, Fireteam Osiris, as they tried to hunt down an AWOL Master Chief, but a combination of muddy narrative elements and emphasis on Prothean enemies dragged it down. Had Halo 5 lasered in on Fireteam Osiris, cutting Master Chief's Blue Team out entirely, and focused on a conflict without the Protheans, the conversation around it would have been a lot different. The elements were all there, and the game even featured Nathan Fillion reprising his role as Halo 3: ODST's Buck, who has been popular.
Whatever comes after Halo Infinite is hardly a blip on the minimap, as Infinite is intended to be a 10-year game according to 343 Industries. Plus, the future of the franchise largely hinges on how Infinite handles Master Chief. A send-off is certainly a possibility, though it's understandable why 343 Industries would be apprehensive to let Master Chief go – he's synonymous with Halo. For the good of the franchise, though, it may be time for Master Chief to hang up his helmet.
Halo Infinite is in development for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.