Halo Fans Split on Whether Activision Should Reboot the Franchise from Scratch

Halo enthusiasts are torn over whether Activision should completely reboot the franchise or continue Master Chief's saga. A rumor circulating online, originating from a user named TechnicalHalo, suggests that Activision will wipe the slate clean and discard all existing lore for a fresh start. We advise caution, as Activision's actual plans for Halo remain unknown, but this has sparked a lively debate among fans. Should Activision use its first Halo game to reset the beloved sci-fi series?

Some fans believe that while Halo has lost its way over the past decade, there are still elements from the newer games worth preserving. Bungie's contributions (from Halo: Campaign Evolved through Halo: Reach) are cherished, so some argue that retconning Halo 4 and beyond could be a viable path. This would keep the most beloved Chief stories canon while allowing Activision to explore a new era of Halo storytelling.

"I'm against a full reboot," one fan said on Reddit. "But if they said the Bungie era is canon and everything else going forward is being rebooted, I wouldn't be very upset. Halo 4 has grown on me over the years, but 5 and Infinite's story led nowhere."

"My only other idea for getting back to a good status quo, short of scorching everything, would be to just do what Terminator does all the time and just start from Halo 3 again. But it would basically nullify any investment people had in the last decade+, even if it wasn't much, and still give the impression there's no direction if you cop out on a true follow-up," said another.

That same fan suggested the idea of a full reboot might be born out of necessity, given Master Chief actor Steve Downes is getting older and will inevitably need to be recast if they want to tell new stories with the character.

"Steve Downes I just don't think is a long-term option for Chief anymore at his age and a recast is inevitable. You can keep Taylor as Cortana and the Campaign Evolved recasts but a reboot would immediately clear the deck for new versions of the characters and new actors. I'm actually more interested in a full reboot at this point than even a loose Infinite sequel. A full reboot actually sounds like more of a plan," they added.

Another fan echoed these sentiments of recasting Chief: "Honestly might be a good call, even if a lot of Halo fans hate the idea," said another fan. "If they're wanting to grow the franchise again and get new eyes why saddle this fresh beginning with over 20 years of games, comics, and books. Plus, Steve Downes ain't getting any younger and will probably be 80 by the time this game releases. Might be time to consider a new voice actor, and trying to recast Chief in a sequel feels like sacrilege."

Some think it's time to leave Chief behind altogether, regardless of how Activision handles the timeline, and embrace other stories in the Halo universe, similar to Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.

"Reboot? Okay thats fine," one fan said. "Just make it a Halo reboot and not Master Chief reboot. Give me Halo games with new characters akin to Reach or ODST."

"I think it would be a shame to completely overwrite everything after Halo 3 since there is some good stuff there in the storylines told outside of the games," said another fan. "I think the best bet would be to just leave the current storyline as is and go either forward or backwards in the timeline and tell new stories with new characters that are mostly disconnected from what came before."

It was confirmed yesterday that Activision would be building a new team to make the next Halo game, while Halo Studios was gutted by layoffs. It's unclear if any of the Call of Duty studios will be assisting on the project, as Sledgehammer Games has long been rumored to be eyeing the Halo franchise. It will likely be a while before the next Halo materializes, especially if Activision is throwing everything out and starting from scratch. Only time will tell what happens, but it'll be interesting to see what direction they take it in regardless.