Before anyone goes and says “Halo ≠ CoD, thread sucks,” hear me out. I am not claiming that they’re the same game, nor that they’re comparable games. They’re two different franchises for different fanbases with different tastes for gaming.
Also, I don’t mean to hate on either game. I wish to look at facts about both franchises and their fanbases, and I wish to project the future of Halo based on similar events and community opinions.
Tl;dr is at the bottom for the lazy or time-restrained.
In the CoD franchise, they’ve moved into a place where futuristic games with different movement systems and “Super-fast-paced action!” are priority. The years of this style of game have made the fanbase uneasy, and many old fans wish for a more “Classic” game, since you can have a fast-paced and fun game without “Exo-Jumps.”
This is happening right now for much of the Halo community.
Despite the outcry for a “classic” CoD experience… Infinite Warfare. It does not look like the old and loved gameplay shared by many of the past games is returning anytime soon. This has made the CoD community, as a whole, angry. If Halo 6 does something similar, it’ll be treated similarly.
While I want Halo to branch out, and I’d love it to explore new ways to make the game entertaining and different from the rest of the franchise, I don’t want it to stray too far from its original gameplay, since if it does, it may end up falling into the same hole as the franchise with over three million dislikes on its most recent installment’s reveal trailer. And, though I enjoy it in its entirety, I fear that Halo may have already started falling into this hole with Halo 5.
Halo 5’s quality as a game has no bearing on this. It is, itself, a fairly balanced game with few absolute and glaring flaws (not to say that there are none, because there are definitely flaws in the game). The problem is that it doesn’t cater to the “veteran” fanbase at all. If Halo 6 doesn’t find some way to cater to both the “veteran” and the “new” fans, the franchise will end up hated by many in both groups in the end, no matter the quality of any future installments, much like modern CoD is.
Infinite Warfare isn’t even out, and it’s hated by many loyal fans of the series. If Halo 6 decides to become “Halo 5 on steroids,” any Halo game that comes out afterwards will be hated by many, regardless of whether the game is actually very good. This isn’t good for anyone.
Again, I don’t say this to distress anyone. I say this because I love Halo, and I don’t want to see it die, and if it doesn’t cater to both fanbases, it will be damaged beyond repair.
Tl;dr: Infinite Warfare is hated, despite the fact that it isn’t even out. This is because, despite the massive outcry for a “classic” experience, they got space robots. If Halo 6 doesn’t feel and play like a classic Halo game, but also appeals to the new fans, the franchise will fall into the same hole CoD is in now.
That is all.