What If Halo Was A Mac Exclusive? Here's A Bit Of Alternate History

Halo is one of the most iconic games in history, and the poster child of Microsoft's Xbox brand. However, things - and the entire gaming industry - could've been way, way different, and that is due to original developer Bungie's prior commitments.

In this article, we're going to explore a bit of the premiere sci-fi shooter's history and see how things would be like if the original plans for it pushed through. If you're a big, long-time fan of Halo yourself, you might even find yourself thankful that things turned out the way they were. Credits to Polygon for the brilliant alternate history bits.

Now, onto the article.

Early (Problematic) History

Original developer Bungie was more or less a PC (Windows) and Mac-centric developer. That's one of their earliest gigs, so to speak. They were one of the premiere Mac-only game developers with their first-person shooter title called Marathon, with the concept for Halo just a twinkle in the developers' eyes.

Marathon would eventually still make it to Windows, because sticking to one platform in those days isn't a good business decision for Mac developers. Then, Marathon would be followed up by the RTS games Myth and Myth 2, with the latter proving to be the problematic one.

Myth 2 had a very terrible installer bug. If you install it on the main directory (in Windows PCs, it's the C: drive) and then uninstall it, it will delete random files on the hard drive. It could literally break the PC of anyone who played it. So, Bungie had to recall the game from shelves to save face; losing millions of dollars in the process.

The Myth 2 recalls almost put the OG Halo developer into the poorhouse. They then went to work on their new IP: a sci-fi title codenamed "Monkey Balls" that would eventually turn into Halo. Yes, you read that right: Halo's original codename was Monkey Balls. Soon, the game would be revealed at MacWorld 1999 by virtue of Bungie's vice president Tamte calling a favor from his old boss, Apple's Steve Jobs.

Halo's Original Concept

When Halo was announced in 1999, it wasn't the Halo you know now. Though to this day, that reveal remains one of the most important milestones in the history of the gaming industry. As reported by Kotaku, the game was originally marketed as a third-person action title for the Mac, with online play being one of the main selling points. It was far from the first-person console gaming icon than it is today, though there are still things that you'd likely recognize even in its first ever reveal.

Here is the original announcement headed by Steve Jobs himself:

But what if it really only just shipped on Apple's machines? That's where the alternate history begins. Halo became a launch exclusive for the then-new Xbox console, because Microsoft offered Bungie more control over their IP than their original parent company, Take-Two Interactive (GTA's parent company). However, in this universe, Bungie never agreed to Microsoft's offer of a buyout - and instead stayed on Mac.

Read also: The Horizon Zero Dawn Netflix Show Is Apparently Called Horizon 2074

What If Bungie Never Agreed To Bring Halo To The Xbox?

As per Polygon's alternate history, it all begins with the installer bug on Myth 2. In this alternate timeline, Bungie never recalled Myth 2 and decided to blame the installer bug on Windows instead. The studio also realized that they never really needed anybody else to hold their hand, as they were doing just fine on their own - they didn't have to spend millions on recalling Myth 2, after all.

This results to Halo taking over Apple by storm. Employees and even Steve Jobs himself, who is not a gamer by any means, joins in on the fun. Microsoft sees this hype and wants their cut of the pie. But the studio (as they are now after that $3.6 billion Sony deal) didn't want to lose their independence, more so to Microsoft, of all people.

Once Steve Jobs learned that then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is offering a buyout, he gave Bungie an offer: pure, unadulterated creative freedom and a guaranteed install base by ensuring that every Mac computer will have a copy of Halo pre-installed. Now, Xbox had to find a different launch game that will make people want to buy their console.

Their game of choice? Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 3. Xbox might never have had Halo in this universe, but GTA 3 was more or less a fitting replacement - if not a better one.

The Downfall Of PlayStation

With Halo exclusively on Mac and GTA 3 exclusively on Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 2 never sold well without a big-name exclusive headlining it. In our timeline, Microsoft actually declined having GTA 3 on Xbox because they believed the GTA series itself (which started life as a top-down, 2D franchise) would never make a successful leap to full 3D.

That of course never happened in this Halo-Mac universe. GTA 3 and succeeding GTA games kept propping up Xbox even without Halo, which meant trouble for the PS2. The PlayStation brand never amounted to anything much in this universe, prompting Apple and Microsoft to be among the two foremost gaming industry giants.

Sony never recovered from the PS2's struggles. Their PlayStation 3 was more or less killed off in 2008, causing the company to exit the console business and never make consoles anymore. The iconic PS4 and the amazing PS5 never gets made at all. 

No iPhone + Microsoft Feels The Brunt Of 'Hot Coffee'

In our timeline, the GTA series was always controversial. But things came to a head with the "Hot Coffee" controversy on GTA San Andreas. Hot Coffee is a hidden minigame within San Andreas that allowed players to have in-game sex with any girlfriend of their choice. This was, of course, as shocking to the people in our timeline as it is in the Halo-Mac timeline.

Since the GTA series was exclusive on Xbox, players had access to this Hot Coffee minigame. And it was an absolute PR nightmare for Microsoft, with critics slamming Ballmer for  "driving kids to sin." Apple, on the other hand, had a much, much cleaner reputation because of Halo - even if it was a first-person shooter (remember the "games make kids violent" movement?").

Before this happened, however, Apple made sure that their image is as clean-cut as can be by actually BANNING the practice of teabagging; something that the Halo series in our timeline would've been known for. Even Steve Jobs himself rode the wave of the Hot Coffee controversy by  saying that Master Chief is canonically not a sexual person -  putting Microsoft and Xbox's backs up against the wall.

As for the iPhone, Jobs didn't think much of it in this alternate universe. The company has built a reputation for games, and so, they start focusing on making their own game console to compete with Microsoft's upcoming Xbox 360. The 360 suffers a tough launch, and the Xbox brand itself never recuperates.

Intense Censorship

By now, Apple is THE family friendly brand whose immaculate reputation has knocked out almost everybody else in its path - including Nintendo. But in order to cultivate said reputation, the company resorted to implementing downright Orwellian censorship tactics in order to keep games on Mac "family-friendly" and "safe for kids."

Eventually, developers on Mac, including Bungie, have had enough of the censorship. Bungie themselves sued Apple for violating antitrust laws with their censorship measures, and actually wins. The company is then forced to fracture their games division, their online game marketplace, and their console into other companies.

The Butterfly Effect

It's amazing how just a single decision changed the course of history in this Halo-Mac alternate universe. Bungie never agreeing to a Microsoft buyout led to the demise of the PlayStation, Nintendo, and even Xbox. So maybe you should be thankful that the original developers of Halo did the right thing and recalled all those Myth 2 copies, so Master Chief could lovingly fall into the hands of Xbox.

This essentially meant that people could still enjoy their PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles whenever they want and not get stuck with just one console from a dominant company.

Related: Halo Infinite Is Getting New Content Paying Homage To The Live-Action TV Show