How Halo Aims To Grow Beyond Its Gaming Roots

In recent years, the earnings disparity between those two sides has shrunk. Since the first Halo game launched in 2001, the franchise has brought in $5 billion. Roughly 30% of that revenue, or $1.5 billion, has come from consumer products.

^ That's a lot bigger than I expected, I thought maybe 10% or something

"When you look at how the overall [Star Wars] portfolio is managed, there is a lot, a lot of stuff out there. And not all of it is on canon," Ross says. "It's been very important for us to have a more curated, connected story."

She admits that 343 Industries can get carried away in this regard. In recent years, the Halo games have become overwrought with storylines, and an expectation that players have studied the lore from the expanded universe. At some point, the series' purity of gameplay, backed by simple but cohesive plot lines, got lost.

"The learning we're looking at right now is, How do we be a little bit more purist about the stories we tell in our games, and how do we make sure that we use our consumer products and all our novels and everything to tell the richer, deeper story?" Ross says. "Fans have definitely given us the feedback that we've had a little bit too much story out there."

^ Glad they admitted that.

On the whole, though, Ross suggests that Halo's ambitions are resulting in better games for the core audience. She describes how Greg Bear, the author of a trilogy of Halo novels, visited 343 Industries to describe his vision for the Forerunner characters that appeared in future games.

^ Make Greg Bear Lead Writer for Halo 6

Full Article: https://www.fastcompany.com/3063823/most-innovative-companies/halos-brand-halo-how-the-video-game-aims-to-grow-beyond-its-roots

How Halo Aims To Grow Beyond Its Gaming Roots

In recent years, the earnings disparity between those two sides has shrunk. Since the first Halo game launched in 2001, the franchise has brought in $5 billion. Roughly 30% of that revenue, or $1.5 billion, has come from consumer products.

^ That's a lot bigger than I expected, I thought maybe 10% or something

"When you look at how the overall [Star Wars] portfolio is managed, there is a lot, a lot of stuff out there. And not all of it is on canon," Ross says. "It's been very important for us to have a more curated, connected story."

She admits that 343 Industries can get carried away in this regard. In recent years, the Halo games have become overwrought with storylines, and an expectation that players have studied the lore from the expanded universe. At some point, the series' purity of gameplay, backed by simple but cohesive plot lines, got lost.

"The learning we're looking at right now is, How do we be a little bit more purist about the stories we tell in our games, and how do we make sure that we use our consumer products and all our novels and everything to tell the richer, deeper story?" Ross says. "Fans have definitely given us the feedback that we've had a little bit too much story out there."

^ Glad they admitted that.

On the whole, though, Ross suggests that Halo's ambitions are resulting in better games for the core audience. She describes how Greg Bear, the author of a trilogy of Halo novels, visited 343 Industries to describe his vision for the Forerunner characters that appeared in future games.

^ Make Greg Bear Lead Writer for Halo 6

Full Article: https://www.fastcompany.com/3063823/most-innovative-companies/halos-brand-halo-how-the-video-game-aims-to-grow-beyond-its-roots