The Halo universe is massive. 343 have hinted that they want to expand the franchise in all directions and Bonnie Ross see’s her self as a George Lucas like figure presiding over a franchise expanding in to all areas of media and merchandising which appeals to as “broad an audience” as possible. We have had books, bed covers, beanies, backpacks, a TV show and yes, even cookbooks.

So you’ve bought your bed cover, you Master Chief poster is hanging on the wall, you’ve read the books and now your hungry for new Halo experiences. Where do you go if you want to play a Halo game that isn’t a 1st person shooter?

Yes I know custom games exist and offer plenty of variety. For RTS fans there is Halo Wars 1 and 2 and even mobile games have seen some love with Spartan Strike and Spartan Ops.

But what about other AAA titles set in the Halo Universe that offer a completely different experience. Today I thought it would be fun to explore where the franchise could go next. Now there are some of you watching this thinking “I’d like them to finish Halo Infinite first”. Microsoft has plenty of game studios with experience in all kinds of game types. Also consider Halo is a huge galaxy, lots of alien races, a post war landscape, factions that hate each other and many worlds to explore. I’m using the example of other games to give a flavour of what might be fun to explore in the coming years. If, as I suspect, Microsoft wants to turn Halo into a platform of sorts we could be seeing games like this in the coming years.
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So while we all wait for Halo Infinite to “git gud” lets discuss where else the franchise could go…..

Halo Wars 3

…..This one is obvious…..Bigger battles, more complex resource management. keyboard and mouse support on Xbox. The game could be tied in to events on Zeta Halo or even take place on another part of Zeta Halo telling a different part of the UNSC attempt to take the ring and defeat the banished. Whilst Halo Infinite has carried the story of Halo Wars 2 forward I’d like to see a more direct sequel to what I feel is a pretty underrated game.

Space Shooter

Halo is a fantastic war game but if you’re like me you’ve often wondered why we see precious little of space battles in the Halo series so far. I think the time is right for a Squadrons like space shooter. Fight the covenant, banished and anyone else you can think of in space and in the atmosphere. Imagine flying through space, taking on enemy ships in a UNSC fighter or bomber. We’ve seen space combat before in Halo but its pretty basic. This would bring X-Wing levels of control to Halo space combat. There have been rumours recently of a space based shooter mode for Halo Infinite so its not much a leap to consider this as a real possibility and because its not land based would be free from comparisons from anything we have seen before.

Halo Infinite – ODST

Bringing things back down to earth, quite literally, Id like to see a an ODST style game set on Zeta Halo – Yes I know this isn’t a genre but consider this. Play as a marine or ODST in the moments after the Infinity goes down. You play through the first night on Zeta Halo being stalked by Banished troops through the Zeta Halo landscape. You could be sent on solo missions between FOBs, retrieve supplies, fight waves of enemies. Each level could be different depending on how many squad members you have giving us varied gameplay with each run through. Although I’d make this one a more linear experience and perhaps even, a more grown up affair, with elements of tension and horror and with the levels based more on the “343 guilty spark” level from Halo CE than anything we have seen before in Infinite.

Space based RTS

Lets get back in to space with a Space based RTS. Think Sins of a Solar Empire or Home world. If you havent already seen it then you should check out Sins of the Prophet mod for SOSE. Its an outstanding mod and one of the best total conversions I’ve seen. I’d love to see a fully realised space based RTS like this for the Halo Universe. This would be a far more strategic game than Halo Wars but perhaps a more pure form of RTS.

Space based MMORPG

The Halo galaxy is so vast with so many worlds left unexplored that I think a Space based MMORPG makes a lot of sense. Think Eve Online with a Halo coat of paint. As a player take on the messy galaxy post Halo 5. UNSC, Covenant, Banished, A.I.s, criminals and human separatist all fight for control in a post covenant world. Trade, fight, explore. Now perhaps this wouldn’t work for Halo as eventually players want to leave their ships. So perhaps something more like….

Action adventure RPG

A Star Citizen like action adventure RPG. Take the Halo Infinite experience but make it truly open world. Take on missions, build alliances, fly, fight, die. Not a spartan story but the possibilities are pretty much endless. The mix of space and 1st / 3rd person combat could be amazing. I wouldn’t make Spartans a playable characters to avoid comparisons to the main games though so combat could be quite different.

Failing that what about a full RPG experience like Starfield. Imagine a massive RPG campaign set in the Halo universe. Take on the role of an ONI operative to navigate through war torn worlds. This could be truly epic and a great way to expand the universe in a way that a traditional Halo shooter simply cannot. Combat could be Halo like but due to the RPG nature of the game might play more like Mass Effect than a traditional shooter that we are used to.

And finally what about a proper Halo game? Imagine a game with Halo Infinite’s graphics and mechanics but set in a traditional mission based Halo shooter! Tight level design which interacts properly with the weapon and equipment sandbox to create another memorable Halo experience. Hopefully the Halo Infinite campaign DLC will get us closer to this when it releases in 2027!

I said at the beginning of this post that the Halo universe is massive. The lore is so expansive that the possibilities for other games, which give Halo fans alternative experiences, are pretty much endless (see what i did there) Did I miss anything obvious? Are there any game genres you think could be given the Halo treatment? Let me know in the comments below.