Halo 5: Guardians releases in just less than 24 hours, so I’d like to take a moment to reflect on where the Halo community stands and how I think the future might hold. Halo, without a doubt in my mind, is one of the most endearing franchises that exist today, and it’s proven over the years that it still has the potential to captivate and hold the hearts of millions of fans worldwide. Just about a year ago, Halo: The Master Chief Collection was released. This was meant to be a celebration of the series past, but instead it turned into what has soured many gamers view on the Halo franchise. The Master Chief Collection suffered one of the worst launches in the video game industry, but Halo fans were determined that 343 Industries would resolve the issues. Fast forward to today, the game is still not in 100% working order, but it’s MILES ahead of what we received. While that really isn’t acceptable for a AAA franchise like Halo, it’s the harsh reality and Halo fans have ultimately accepted that at this point.
343 Industries has made it very clear that they too were extremely disappointed with how Master Chief Collection launched and has vowed that no future release should suffer the same fate. Halo 5: Guardians is poised to be the biggest Xbox title to launch to date, and the marketing that 343 has done for this game has been nothing short of magical. Whether it was the Chief/Locke speech trailers, #HUNTtheTRUTH podcast, or even those ONI lies, it really got fans excited to see the future of the franchise. The sort of intrigue and mystery that those felt playing Halo: CE and stepping onto a Halo ring for the first time. We don’t know where 343 will take this franchise, but I can safely say that I am genuinely excited to see where we stand in 5 or even 10 years. If Halo fans have proven anything, it’s that they are willing to stand by the series they love, even during its darkest days. Halo 4 may not have kept its population, and MCC was nothing short of a disaster…but in the end, those who are loyal to the series kept hope that maybe…just maybe we could rise again. Halo 5: Guardians has tons of potential, and if 343 rides this launch hype momentum throughout the games lifecycle, I think we can all agree that Halo will have an extremely bright future.
Halo is why I still play games. It’s why I attend conventions like PAX Prime which cost me nearly my entire bank account. It’s why I’ve met so many incredible people in the community. It’s why I am sitting here writing this right now. I truly would like to thank 343 Industries for everything they have done for the community so far, and I can’t wait to see where we go next. Having met many of the staff on numerous occasions, I can safely say that they are very passionate about the product that they put out and care deeply about us fans.(even you!)
Halo means something different to everyone, but I think we can all agree that Halo is Home to us all, and that we really are just a huge family scattered about the world. Whether you are #TeamChief or #TeamLocke, we’re all on #TeamHalo.
Stay classy Spartans, and don’t forget to #HUNTtheTRUTH.
<3
-Gregory Dawes(Wifiplayer13)
P.S. But really if you are #TeamLocke please send me a personal message that’s not acceptable 😛