The Halo brand stretches well beyond a single product. The story of Master Chief, as well as the cast of characters surrounding him, has moved into books, movies, and just about every other entertainment format you can imagine. Mike Ellis, lead designer of Halo: Spartan Assault at Microsoft’s 343 Industries game studio, understands the scope of the first-person hit, and recently talked to Games Beat about the franchise’s universe of experiences.
“343’s looking to have Halo experiences in as many formats as possible. You can look through our portfolio now,” Ellis said. “We have games. We have books on the New York Times bestseller list. We have toys and things like Mega Blocks and McFarlane figures. Halo is bigger than any one game. We see it as an entire universe of experiences.”
It might not be quite the sales giant that Call of Duty has become, but Halo is still a relevant property with enough fans to prop it up for years to come. Look to hear more about Spartan Assault, as well as the massive Halo 5, in 2014.