Imagine that
Here’s a curious hypothetical. After Bungie’s swan song,Halo: Reach, Microsoft was put in the position of needing a new developer to take up the Master Chief mantle. Eventually, Microsoft formed an internal studio, 343 Industries, which has been solely dedicated to theHaloseries.
But that wasn’t always the definitive plan. In an interview withIGN, 343 head Bonnie Ross says Microsoft considered tasking the future ofHaloto an external studio. Gearbox Software was the leading candidate at the time. Gearbox had made the PC port ofHalo: Combat Evolved, leaving it the most familiar team outside of Bungie.
That’s some intriguing alternate history. At the time, Gearbox was fresh off the originalBorderlands, and the well-received sequel would come in 2012. But, since then, Gearbox has also madeDuke Nukem Forever,Aliens: Colonial Marines, andBattleborn— three high-profile swing-and-misses by most any measure. Taking theHalotorch would’ve almost certainly changed the arc of Gearbox’s story to a significant degree.
Instead, 343 Industries was created specifically to cater to one of Xbox’s most important properties. It’s a move Microsoft would mirror years later with The Coalition andGears of War. Since then, 343 has developedHalo 4,Halo: The Master Chief Collection,Halo 5: Guardians, a pair ofHalotwin-stick shooters, and the upcomingHalo Infinite. However, if things would’ve broken just a little differently, Randy Pitchford could very well have ended up as the face ofHalo.
