Ever find yourself worrying that Halo 5: Guardians will be the last mainline entry in the series? If so, you have absolutely nothing to fear, if recent remarks from 343 Industries general manager Bonnie Ross are to be taken seriously.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ross states that not only do 343 and Microsoft plan to support the franchise well into the Xbox One’s life (via both games and spin-offs like the recently released Halo: Nightfall digital series), but that she’d ideally like to see Halo “go another three decades.”
Ross discussed a number of relevant topics in the interview, including the importance of female characters in games, as well as “heroic females and heroic males” in general.
The question is, will we still want to play Halo 30 years from now? Presumably, if Halo games are still great, then the answer will be yes. The problem is, it’s so far away, and so hypothetical, that trying to imagine what Halo would even represent that far into the future is a truly brain-bending task.
Related: Halo: The Master Chief Collection – Everything You Need to Know
One of gaming’s oldest franchises, The Legend of Zelda, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011, and we’re only just now beginning to understand its importance in the gaming industry’s grand scheme. In 30 years when Halo is 44 (it’s 14 now), Zelda will be 59. Predicting the form videogames will have taken by that point is in itself difficult — we may very well be fully immersed in virtual reality. At the very least, we’ll have access to advanced versions of Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.
Regardless, it’s good to know Microsoft is preparing for the indefinite existence of Halo. What do you think? Are franchises meant to last decades long, and if so, do they need to be planned in advance? Sherlock Holmes has been around since the 1800s; it remains to be seen which gaming characters will experience similar longevity as decades and even centuries unfold.
