Next Halo squad-based, Master Chief-free?

Source: A source with firsthand knowledge of Bungie's development.

What we heard: Last year, those skilled enough to complete Halo 3 on legendary difficulty were treated to an extended ending of the game after the credits rolled. For those who don't have a knack for Covenant slaying, numerous YouTube videos depict how, after the defeat of the Flood, series hero the Master Chief is left adrift in space in half of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) ship Forward Unto Dawn.

After a brief conversation with the AI Cortana, the genetically enhanced, perpetually armored Chief enters a hypersleep chamber. The cutscene camera switches to an exterior shot, which pulls back to reveal the remnants of the Dawn entering orbit around a mystery planet. As the sun rises on the planet, music swells, and the screen fades to white, at which point the cutscene abruptly ends.

With that setup, many assumed that Bungie's next project would feature the Master Chief marooned on a strange planet, struggling for survival--a sort of off-world Far Cry. However, a source with knowledge of the studio's development slate told GameSpot a different story. She or he said that sometime this year, Bungie will announce a "darker, grittier" Halo game that doesn't feature the Master Chief at all.

According to the source, the new Halo game will be a spin-off that resembles "a cross between Ghost Recon and Gears of War." It will reportedly tell a "less cartoony" and "more bloody, violent, and grim" tale of a battle between UNSC forces and the pan-racial religious empire known as the Covenant. The game's atmosphere was described as similar to that of the live-action Halo shorts directed by South African filmmaker Neil Blomkamp (pictured), who was to helm the now-stalled big-screen adaptation of the game.

The source says that the upcoming Halo game is a tactical shooter that will follow a squad of colonial marines or orbital-drop shock troopers engaged in "intense" fighting on the ground. Gameplay details were scant, other than the fact that it will reportedly let gamers play as an entire squad in co-op mode through the entire campaign. The exact number of co-op players has yet to be finalized, but it could be as high as eight. It is unclear if the new game is the same as the "Halo: Forerunner" project first rumored in 2006.

The official story: Microsoft had not yet responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Based on the strength of the source, this is almost certainly not bogus. And with Bungie's teaser last week, news about the game could arrive as soon as tomorrow's Microsoft press conference at the E3 Media & Business Summit.

612 Comments

  • aura_enchanted

    Posted Nov 1, 2008 12:38 am PT

    im sorry but master chief was getting fluffed to death. so here what i say we do:1) make this game, 2) convince bill gates to appear in a skit where he splits some cold ones with chief on his front lawn. finally i move that after this game we end halo abruptly rather than have it cont. and become an annoying game to hear down the line like the .hack, final fantasy, and MK games which all had there limelite but are now used to suckle the die hards refusing to let go.

  • dermy_burns

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 11:24 am PT

    it would be cool if u could go around the plant and kill creatures and a secret convent base or something

  • NoseWeed619

    Posted Sep 25, 2008 6:08 pm PT

    Yay.

  • YoJim8obaJoe

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 11:23 pm PT

    BIA with spartans could be fun

  • 13lackfriday

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 9:44 pm PT

    F**k yeah, a squad-based ODST shooter.

  • Bucharifique

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 11:29 am PT

    what again already lol

  • 1rish

    Posted Sep 24, 2008 6:37 am PT

    I heart republic commando. I hope this game rules.

  • Sam_Fisherman

    Posted Sep 23, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    Seems great this idea seems, Hope gameplay is like Republic Commando I do.

  • FrostyMD

    Posted Sep 23, 2008 5:27 pm PT

    Srickin' Fweet!

  • xtermin8er93

    Posted Sep 17, 2008 6:31 am PT

    Krickin sweet!!

  • unbrokennoddles

    Posted Sep 11, 2008 6:34 pm PT

    me liky dis might answer my questions plz be good multiplayer!

  • RaiderNic99

    Posted Aug 28, 2008 4:02 am PT

    Im kind of hoping that it is more like that Star Wars Clone Commando game that came out a while ago.....the one where you played the special squad of clones.....if it was that mixed with gears and ghost recon then hell yeah! also they should keep MASTER CHIEF as a side character....like you cant use him or control him but you see him in fights and stuff.......that would be cool......to see him do things from the books or side stories........depending on what time period this game will be set in........still sounds good and cant wait...suck they canceled the trailer at E3 08 though.....so wanted to see it...graphics should be nuts!

  • marnis

    Posted Aug 26, 2008 4:16 am PT

    if any thing that tlks about halo or that involves halo i would like to play all day long

  • rey1294

    Posted Aug 16, 2008 7:59 am PT

    sounds okay, but i can never imagine halo without master chief.

  • GOT_Sn4K3_eY3Z

    Posted Aug 10, 2008 12:33 pm PT

    ooooOOoo... it sounds ok.. better not be 3rd person hate them... but come on no MC hts gonna suck.. maybe at the end he flies in and pwns everything. lolz

  • americansolsrfr

    Posted Aug 9, 2008 2:35 am PT

    me and a couple of friends have been talking about the halo universe. I just think that its crazy that they might be making a squad based halo game, because that is exactly what we have been talking about...... but it was more of the full spectrum warrior but a 100x better. never thought about a cross between ghost recon and Gears. sounds very interging. very pissed at MS. I thought that they would be better to their fans but i was wrong. i was wondering why there was no huge annoncement from bungie this year.

  • cooldude637

    Posted Aug 7, 2008 9:16 pm PT

    Yeah nice new halo game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Mith19

    Posted Aug 6, 2008 10:38 am PT

    this is just a rumor it's not sure thats it real it could be and a halo game without mc and sqaud based like gears or ghost recon cool but if it does come out i would like to try it

  • cocomacoco

    Posted Aug 5, 2008 7:39 pm PT

    this is something so out of line, i mean, this is just a extra bucks on their hats?, hell no, as much as i thank Bungie for beeing one of the greatest creators and for really working hard for the fans in switching things up a bit from time to time, i really would say, Halo without Master Chief, or a compelling Substitute, it doesnt make sense to me, really

  • john-cena112

    Posted Aug 4, 2008 7:10 am PT

    halo without MC....hmmmm....Lets see how the game turns out to be .hopefully it'll be better and who knows , its something new! hope it will beat MGS4 . come on bungie !!!!!!! you can do it !!!! halo ftw !!!!!!

  • Darth-Sifh

    Posted Jul 30, 2008 12:38 am PT

    MjolnirMaster51
    "Spartans had shields to help them survive, but what do regular Marines and even ODSTs have to give them an edge?"

    Nothing but pure badassery

  • Darth-Sifh

    Posted Jul 30, 2008 12:31 am PT

    sTEALtooth
    "This is stupid. The whole point of Spartans in the Halo universe is because normal humans don't stand a chance against the Covenant. What's the point of fighting a battle that you can't win. Just like the prequel nature of Halo Wars, it doesn't make sense to have a game fighting the covenant without Spartans. A squad-based game of all spartans may be cool but IDK how the storyline would work."

    Actually if you read the books the Marines actually could hold their own on the ground, but do to the Covenant's advanced technology the UNSC would lose the space battle and the Covenant would glass the planet anyway. (With the Marines still on it)

  • Greywyne

    Posted Jul 28, 2008 9:56 am PT

    Yay! Cool as long as they still continue on from halo 3.

  • Hicks_1

    Posted Jul 28, 2008 8:53 am PT

    Bungie missed out big time, put a giant venus fly trap in the halo story line and it's still unknown if the humans won the war with the covenant or if they did how. All we know is that the flood was defeated and the master chief made it. What about the brutes? What happened to the covenant? Also, they really screwed up when they didn't make a level and consequently a game that reflected their commericals, especially the one with the diaroma and the chief has one last plasma nade to plant. That would have been an awesome level and an awesome ending.

  • willywilbo

    Posted Jul 28, 2008 2:36 am PT

    I cant wait, but i dont like the idea of no master chief. You cant have halo without Master Chief!

  • IrishMarine3

    Posted Jul 27, 2008 5:30 pm PT

    That screeny is a load of crap its from this video
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6g1yyWEfks

    go to 6.23

  • Sunrie

    Posted Jul 27, 2008 2:52 pm PT

    Interesting. I certainly hope it debuts on the PC as well, as I cannot stand using the controllers due to lack of precision shooting.

    Halo has never been my thing. Since Halo 1 on the PC, I've seen the Halo series as kind of a "youngsters" FPS without much shine and charm. Of course the game has it's ravaging fan base, who desire to quash anything remotely negative said about the games, but so does The Sims.

    If this game ends up being a squad based FPS with a darker theme, then I will look into it. Squad based FPS rarely actually have people working together, though, as seen evident in all of the Battlefield games.

  • TheProphecied1

    Posted Jul 27, 2008 2:38 pm PT

    Yeesssssssss!!!!!

  • Wesdawg7

    Posted Jul 26, 2008 10:21 pm PT

    This looks cool.

  • TheLonesomeGod

    Posted Jul 26, 2008 6:14 pm PT

    Actually expected out of the ending cutscene...way I saw it? Three options: Master Chief on the new planet, The elites back on their homeworld, or the UNSC battling against the covenant... Looks like my team has taken lead.

  • sodagod91

    Posted Jul 26, 2008 4:20 pm PT

    I knew about this since the beggining of the year, i have a friend whos uncle works for bungie and all he would tell me that a few of the programers from ghost recon will be working on this project. he also hinted that its planed to use odst troopers (not a ddefinite but he mmentioned them) other than that everything you know i knew befor you! lol

  • erik_d_583

    Posted Jul 26, 2008 2:49 pm PT

    I was hoping Halo 3 would be like this, grittier and darker like the trailers. Can't wait!

  • LiontamerV

    Posted Jul 25, 2008 11:42 pm PT

    I really hope this game is real...

  • Spartan_418

    Posted Jul 25, 2008 6:34 pm PT

    pleasebethirdperson pleasebethirdperson pleasebethirdperson...

  • master_chief_MN

    Posted Jul 25, 2008 12:11 pm PT

    This would be a wonderful way to break free of the "twelve year olds only" Halo stereotype that has been created over the last two games. To aim the game at serious gamers (of all ages) just not people going crazy with "pwn your face" antics would be an intelligent move indeed.

  • StarFox-Elite

    Posted Jul 22, 2008 5:44 pm PT

    I hope you can play as Elites in this

  • Sparty2020

    Posted Jul 21, 2008 8:09 am PT

    It's a dream come true, I hope this game is like Star Wars Republic Commando, that game hasd one of the GREATEST AI behavior I have ever seen in a game and it featured a very dark very gritty very amazing side that star wars has never shown. Ever since playing that game I'd be hoping Halo did the same, and my prayers have been awnsered. ODST's aren't as cool as a squad of SPARTAN's but their still much better than leading average Marines. Here's hoping for Johnson as the main character

  • Spartan-051

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 3:21 pm PT

    **** i want MC not ****ing marines

  • MidniteShadow

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 11:51 pm PT

    Let the halo series set the bar on tactical shooters this time around

  • Slinky_Turtle

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 10:25 pm PT

    I'm glad they're taking halo in a new direction. I'ts about time too. Halo is boring now with all the better games out there to play.

  • Solid-snake6

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 10:15 pm PT

    yyyyyeeesss! Squad based shooter and it's bloody and grittier sucks their isn't any chief.

  • LYTEK

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 4:20 pm PT

    This looks promising...hope they find the Chief, though.

  • Master___C

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 3:46 pm PT

    Good, it's such a smart move for Bungie. Many of us wanted to see Bungie continue with the Halo franchise, and now we get to play those intense battles that we see in the Halo universe. Goodbye Master Chief, you won't be missed.

  • jamdog96

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 2:40 pm PT

    Come along New Halo Game. Come Along soon.

  • lettuceman44

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 12:27 pm PT

    Bungie cancels announcement. Must wait to see this now.

  • Constant1ne

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 11:16 am PT

    I hope they have the same feel as the Believe ads. I mean... I want to feel like Humanity really is on the edge of extinction, I wanna see my marines getting annihilated, so it feels like we really did have a fight.

    MC was great, but, slightly over-powered to get that feeling. Besides, he was often solo, and I don't really like that.

    I don't want to feel superior than my squad/comrades, I want to feel like we're all on the same level, so it's a real, bloody, challenging and frankly... scary/thrilling fight.

    If they can give you the feeling that you ARE in war, and there ARE major threats, plus give it the Halo feel and story... It'll be 11 outta 10

  • jamdog96

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 10:07 am PT

    Release it!!!

    Eight player co-op???

    Halo???

    Bring it on!!!

  • JRusch5150

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 9:48 am PT

    The game was hard enough being Master Chief, so hopefully the A.I. is decent so we'll at least have a chance. The game sounds pretty kick ass though.

  • grambyte

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 5:10 am PT

    About frikn time...

  • bean907

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 1:07 pm PT

    If this game has as intuitive squad command as Republic Commando, mixed in with Halo's Story and gameplay, then it's definitely worth waiting for!
    Who knows, THIS might just be the next-gen MARATHON (for those who know of Bungie's past), it certainly is much darker and grittier than Halo.

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