Some franchises have stood the test of time. Halo is one of those FPS games that continues to see new installments long after its initial debut. This game could be argued as one of the big reasons Xbox was a console contender when Microsoft first ventured into the industry. Likewise, it was also a big franchise that helped put Bungie in the limelight.
We still have some time before we can celebrate the big 25th anniversary of Halo. The game franchise won’t hit that milestone until 2026. However, that doesn’t mean the folks over at Xbox are not already preparing what to do for this iconic IP. Recently, License Global spoke with John Friend, the head of Xbox Gaming Consumer Products. During their conversation, Halo came up.
As mentioned, Halo is iconic for the Xbox brand, and Bungie has helped deliver several installments to the series. However, it has since been moved over to the folks at 343 Industries, who might not have had the greatest luck in some player’s eyes. Their latest release, Halo Infinite, took the franchise in a different direction as it gave players an open-world experience. Now we’re left waiting to see what that next chapter of this franchise will entail. But, according to John Friend, a celebration event has already been in the works.
John mentioned that Microsoft has all these fantastic franchises celebrating anniversaries. Halo, for instance, is already in the building phase for its 25th anniversary. They went on to note that this franchise is rich with heritage and history so you have to celebrate that for these communities.
We’re building plans for the 25th anniversary of ‘Halo’ and Xbox—we have such a rich heritage and history, and these communities have been active for so long, you have to celebrate that. – John Friend
Unfortunately, we don’t know anything else right now, but at least we know Microsoft is taking the time to chart out what to showcase in 2026 for the IP. Perhaps this celebration event will also highlight a tease of the next Halo installment. Of course, that might just be wishful thinking on my part. For now, we have all of 2025 to get through before we can start to focus on the anniversary event.
