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Arrowhead Game Studios has revealed a modest but welcome crossover with Halo.
What We Were Sold
The Helldivers 2 announcement trailer for Xbox ended with a small tease using a track from Halo ODST.
Many gamers and games press, including us, speculated if this could mean a full crossover between the Helldivers and Halo games.
We usually associate crossovers with fighting games. Capcom and Nintendo are particularly famous for their Capcom Vs. and Super Smash Bros. games, respectively.
In this case, the most high-profile crossover in the shooter space would be the recently cancelled XDefiant. Clearly, this is fertile ground for franchise crossovers that game developers haven’t explored yet.
What We Actually Got
The Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST crossover turned out to be a Legendary Warbond. That’s a battle pass filled with Halo gear and weapons you can earn by playing through it.
A Legendary Warbond isn’t going to expire, but you do have to buy it. The Helldivers 2 x Halo ODST Legendary Warbond costs 1,500 Super Credits.
You can earn those Super Credits in-game. Of course, it will be much easier to use real money off the bat.
Is This OK?
The Warbond includes some favorites for longtime Halo fans. That includes the MA5C Assault Rifle, the A-9 Helljumper armor, and an Honored Heirloom Cape.
While this did not turn out to be as huge as fans hoped, it clears everyone’s minimum expectations.
With the effort it takes to make games at a AAA level nowadays, it’s more reasonable for crossovers to be new skins and gear. The effort and cost to plan out a real game vs. game crossover makes them prohibitively expensive.
It’s Still A Good Way To Draw In Xbox Gamers
Xbox gamers will definitely like the novelty of playing as a Halo grunt in Helldivers 2. It gives them something familiar to cling onto when they venture into this unknown territory.
Can Sony find success selling PlayStation games on Xbox? Microsoft managed to clear that bar on Sony’s platform just fine.
Let’s Talk About The Goalposts Shifting
Both Sony and Microsoft created an unforeseen dilemma for themselves with a little something we like to call the ‘console wars.’
It’s true that Nintendo and Sega, and before them Atari and Magnavox, would play up their competition in marketing. But none of them brought it to the level Sony and Microsoft did for the PlayStation and Xbox competition for the last three decades.
There’s no doubt this competition helped both companies sell a lot of consoles. They now have to figure out how to sell their games to customers who consider them as the ‘enemy.’
And of course we know they’re both still making new consoles in the future. It’s an awkward situation all around, but Sony finally decided to dip their toes in.
