Back during Microsoft's big Xbox One reveal over the summer, we heard quite a bit on upcoming Halo properties, arguably the company's flagship franchise. We got a nice teaser trailer during E3, news that Spielberg was working on a television show, then...things went quiet. Microsoft's been aloof lately on providing additional details lately. Until today apparently. A recent post over on the Xbox Wire listed a few games players will have to look forward to this year, like Titanfall, Watch Dogs, The Elder Scrolls Online, and others. Shortly thereafter, Rob Semsey, Senior PR Manager for Halo took to Twitter to explain that a new Halo game should be counted among the list of games.
"Xbox Wire today mentioned a few 2014 titles; Halo on Xbox One not listed due to official name of the next title not announced yet," Semsey
first wrote, which was quickly followed by, "Rest assured your next Halo journey WILL begin in 2014. #staycalm"
Granted, it's not the kind of details fans were perhaps hoping for, but at least it's something. Meanwhile, Phil Spencer, VP of Microsoft Studios, spoke with OXM about the live action show, and how it could work as a potential stepping stone for the future game's release.
"I think there's a story in the Halo games that's noteworthy, and that we can introduce more people to the IP by putting the franchise, stories, and characters in more accessible mediums than a first person shooter. That's a good thing for Halo, a good thing for the platform, and a good thing for the IP owners."
Spencer talked about how Halo 4 was helped along by the Forward Unto Dawn live action series, but that the upcoming television show could easily stand on its own two legs.
"I definitely don't think of it as filler," said Spencer. "Halo, you could argue, is the most important entertainment IP that Microsoft owns. I can't use the word filler anywhere near Halo, it just won't work. If we're going to do a television series with Halo, we're going to do it the right way, and we're going to do it because we think it really matters."
"I'm a big Walking Dead fan," he added. "I've read the comics and graphic novels; the IP has grown and became more accessible as it hit TV, then went to videogames where it did incredibly well, and I think that strategy of growing and deepening what the franchise and IP is about is a good strategy for an IP holder."
That was Spencer's gist, but anyone looking for anymore info will be disappointed.
Halo has forayed into the live-action world before, and with significantly better results than most games. Apart from Forward Unto Dawn, a good portion of Halo 4's David Fincher-produced launch trailer, Scanned, was live-action. A movie was under consideration with Peter Jackson, Neil Blomkamp, and Guillermo del Toro all under consideration at one point or another to direct, but the movie was eventually killed, after being considered too expensive to make.
What remains unknown is if Spielberg's show will follow the plots of the recent game, the original trilogy, some kind of mash up, or if he has an original idea up his sleeve, but Spielberg's been even quieter on the project than Microsoft. Even his piece during the project's announcement at E3 was a pre-recorded message.
We'll keep you posted if any more information ever pops up. Unitl then, enjoy the trailer below that Microsoft used to tease the new game.