It's actually happened, Halo is coming to PlayStation! This has been rumoured for a little while now, and given Microsoft's recent efforts of bringing pretty much all of its other previously exclusive franchises over (although having already brought over everything to Windows, even if it's "still in the family") to PlayStation as also Switch in some instances, this was not a surprise.
Yes, that's a PlayStation logo underneath the Halo logo.
Whilst it might not be a surprise, it is still a pretty monumental moment in videogame history. This might sound overly dramatic, but unlike Gears of War the Halo series has been symbolic of the Xbox brand. Combat Evolved - the first game in the franchise - launched alongside the original Xbox. Halo 2 defined Xbox Live multiplayer for years. And what Xbox 360 owner didn't have Halo 3?
Halo was the last main holdout, although we could include Fable in this, but that will likely cross the aisle if it actually does get released. Halo Infinite was ultimately a disappointment, especially it's single player campaign, and has meant that Halo as a franchise has struggled to remain relevant. What was once a system seller is no more. That's not to say there isn't any cultural cache behind it, but not enough to sell new Xbox's.
I mentioned in a previous post that Xbox's days as a console manufacture are increasingly looking numbered now. That's not to say that Microsoft will abandon the videogames market, far from it, they have invested too much into. However, the Xbox division has struggled to bring in significant profits for a long time now. Plus, Microsoft is not actually particularly good at supporting hardware long term. That, and that Microsoft now wants 30% return in profits, a target far beyond the usual 16 - 20. Something apparently PlayStation is just about achieving (the buyout of Bungie hadn't helped).
Unlike Sega bringing Sonic to the Nintendo GameCube (and PlayStation 2), this was after Sega had ceased manufacturing console hardware. This was just confirmation that times had changed and the console war between Sega and Nintendo was over, and Sega had lost.
This time, Xbox is still making hardware, but there is little faith in this going forwards. Yes, we have the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, but, this is made by Asus, Microsoft just provided a modified version of Windows 11 to run on it (ironically putting Linux on it makes the games work better). Though, this approach makes a lot of sense for Microsoft and is likely the preferred route for them in the future. They don't want to be involved in hardware, Microsoft has always been a software company, that is their safe place. Why not just let other companies make the hardware for them. It works for Windows. Even if they did need to create the Surface line to give PC manufactures the kick needed to improve...
I will watch this move with great interest, not only this "new" version of Halo - which is very interested from a remake perspective - but also Microsoft's approach to its games business moving forwards.
