Perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is what exactly to do with Halo.
Halo used to be synonymous with Xbox. It was to Xbox what Mario is to Nintendo, but after years of painful mismanagement, corporate inertia, and hundreds of millions of dollars ... Halo is arguably at its lowest point ever.
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Halo Campaign Evolved arguably didn't resonate as well as it perhaps should've done. Selling yet another re-master of the original Halo game, albeit this time without even competitive multiplayer, doesn't seem to have been a hugely worthwhile endeavour. You could even argue it did more harm than good to Xbox, given the fact Microsoft released it on PlayStation too, but that's just my opinion.
What is perhaps less of an opinion is that Halo has absolutely mountains of untapped potential. It's a known quantity, the fanbase is clamouring for a new high-quality Halo game, and the transmedia opportunities are painfully clear. It's always been about execution.
Perhaps the answer to getting Halo back towards firing on all cylinders again is looking towards the alumni who made it great in the first place. Co-creators of the original games such as Joseph Staten have been reminiscing about the game lately, with Staten wondering what more Halo ODST-like spin-offs and expansions might look like.
"I often think about what it would have been like if we’d kept building on Halo 3 with ODST-like expansions — new stories, innovative mechanics, etc. Would have been great fun."
Super inspiring to see @CDPROJEKTRED deliver new Witcher 3 adventures. I often think about what it would have been like if we’d kept building on Halo 3 with ODST-like expansions — new stories, innovative mechanics, etc. Would have been great fun. https://t.co/HjHy72CqroAugust 26, 2026
There has been a lot of rumors and conjecture about what it's like working at Halo Studios right now, with some arguing that Microsoft and Xbox leadership isn't running it all too well.
Others have suggested Halo's slide is frustrated by its location, or Microsoft's creativity-stifling corporatism. Many others have expressed hopes that maybe some OG Bungie or 343i alumni could return to the franchise, such as Marcus Lehto.
Finished the prequels. They were really fun at points and I’m impressed with so many cool things about them and the campaign remake, namely the visuals which are gorgeous.Overall, the 3 pre levels left me flat and asking too many question, mostly about design and story pic.twitter.com/hOO0i1vTmcAugust 21, 2026
I really enjoyed Halo Wars 2, and Halo Infinite's campaign gameplay was decently fun, but there was always this sense of untapped potential across the franchise. Many of Halo Infinite's story beats connecting it to Halo 5 were shunted into books and out of the game, as 343i repeatedly reworked story beats only to subsequently abandon them and leave them unfinished. And let's not discuss the disastrous Halo TV show on Paramount.
With Gears of War, Fable, and Forza enjoying an incredibly strong showing throughout Gamescom and this year in general — Halo has oddly become the runt of the litter, which is an absolutely wild thing to say.
What would you like to see Asha Sharma do with the Halo franchise? Is it worth saving? Can it be saved? Would you like to see Joseph Staten return to lead? Let me know your thoughts.
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