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In a recent interview with Gamesradar, Max Szlagor, the creative director of Halo Studios, offered his take on the series’ upcoming move to PS5.
“It’s important for us to be authentic to the feel, to the things people loved,” he began.
Szlagor then made efforts to combat this sentiment by emphasising commonality over perceived differences.
“Halo is best played when we have a large, healthy community,” he explained.
“We see this as a way to grow, expand, and reconnect the Halo community.”
Executive producer Damon Conn also chimed in.
“We want to honor the Halo legacy on PlayStation, and we’re paving the way to expand our Halo universe,” added Conn.
“That’s how we see it. And it’s not a small thing. We don’t, and we won’t take it lightly. We definitely feel the weight of it.”
Stronger together
While it can be seen as a slight betrayal of the Xbox brand to throw away exclusivity for a series that has been synonymous with Xbox since its inception, there is also a clear case for rapprochement between the two console giants.
As of the last few years, Microsoft has been much more open to cross compatibility while moving away from console exclusives, perhaps in part due to Game Pass.
Though this may not just be about a change in Microsoft’s business, however an olive branch to fans who have otherwise missed out or dropped off.
“There are people who have never been exposed to Halo,” added Conn.
“Maybe they’ve always been on Sony products, switched consoles at a certain point, or just missed it at the time. We want to bring players back together.”
As the Xbox Series X|S continues to trail behind the PS5 by some margin, you could see this as a move made purely for survival. This argument becomes more convincing when you consider that the mixed reception garnered by the last major Halo game, Halo Infinite, likely removed much of the power Halo held as an exclusive.
However, even if you can be cynical about such a move, Halo on PS5 is undoubtedly a rare win for consumers in the video game market. Fewer exclusives means greater accessibility, which means more people actually playing games – surely a good thing.
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