Christmas Day wasn’t entirely celebratory for the developers at Bungie and Halo Studios, as a massive data leak unleashed 90 GB of confidential Halo data onto the internet. One of Xbox’s flagship franchises, the Halo series first launched in November 2001 with Bungie-developed Halo: Combat Evolved. The first-person shooter was groundbreaking and fun, a combination that led to commercial success and a firm place in video game history.
Even today, 23 years after the first game launched, the Halo series continues to influence gaming. It helped bring first-person shooters out of a niche and into the mainstream, appealing to gamers of all kinds. Combat Evolved also introduced a gaming mascot in Master Chief, along with a story rich in lore that led gamers to its now classic tie-in novel, The Fall of Reach. It marked the beginning of a multimedia and multibillion dollar franchise that covers 12 mainline video games, books, graphic novels, an animated series, live-action adaptations, and most recently, a TV show on Paramount+.
Microsoft Gaming head Phil Spencer is commenting on the likelihood of the legendary Halo series appearing on PlayStation consoles in the future.
Now, for better or worse, a snapshot...
