Like most fans out there, the most important Halo game as a fan, to me, was Halo 3. The official announcement, tantalizing reveals, and ultimate release, gave way to one of the most hyped and gratifying video game releases of all time.
Nearly ten years later, we deserve a remake/remaster of this classic. And I have a logical reasoning for why it’s happening, this year, in 2017.
For anyone who knows Microsoft and their nefarious ways, think about this for a second: When Microsoft officials like Phil Spencer get ready to announce a new AAA title for the fall of any given year, they like to tie in something of the same property to help promote the release for marketing and advertising purposes. Come E3 2017, I’m 95% positive that they’ll announce Halo 6, not alongside the Scorpio as a potential launch title but a title being released in Fall of 2018. The same was done for Halo 5, and a beta was released inside the Master Chief Collection as a way to bridge old and new fans. Fans that grew up with the original trilogy were given access to the future of what Halo has to offer. The same will be done with Halo 6 in beta form, but through what method? Surely they wouldn’t release it independently through Xbox Live, because it doesn’t make much sense. If there’s anything they know more than anything else, it’s that fans will want to invest in new property and use older property as a gateway.
Halo Wars 2 was already released earlier this year, so that’s one Halo property out. How can they possibly bridge the old/new generation again for a third time? Release a Halo 3: Anniversary this year to both coincide with its ten year anniversary release, and house an invitation to the beta in early 2018.
From a business standpoint, this approach is practically bulletproof when you consider Microsoft’s track record with Halo. It’s their most cherished jewel, their crowning franchise. In order to honor that, they’d almost certainly have to release an anniversary edition of Halo 3 on the Scorpio, as a launch title, to create the perfect bridge to Halo 6.
This isn’t nostalgia speaking, either. It’s common reasoning. If you’ve been with Halo and Microsoft for as long as most fans have, they’ll tell you it’d be impossible not to release Halo 3: Anniversary later this year, at the latest next year. The mere fact that we haven’t heard a single mention of Halo 6 yet, not even so much a working title, is proof that it’ll release next year, with another Halo game (H3A) to start the bridge.
I said this before in a previous post, but 343i can downplay the rumors over and over until the world stops moving. They’ve never been the most hush-hush company out there, especially for a subsidiary company. It’s quite impressive that they haven’t let slip the big reveal just yet, but the fans know better. They always do.
NOTE: This isn’t official proof. It’s a realistic breakdown of events that will more than likely happen, based off past history.