Bungie Announces Over Two Dozen Halo Spin-Offs At X06
In Barcelona, Spain at X06, Bungie Studios, the makers of the vaunted Halo franchise, has announced a major diversification of its signature brand.
Among the myriad of games revealed, gamers will be able to play as the Master Chief in various sports titles, such as Halo Tennis, Halo Golf: Covenant Tour, Halo Superstar Baseball and Super Halo Kart: Triple Dash!!!.
Another interesting spin-off is a dating sim, dealing with the Master Chief’s early days in high school. While much of the game is not reminiscent of the open battlefields that Halo is known for, the high school environment is expressly detailed and takes full advantage of the Xbox 360 architecture. Oddly, the game inexplicably has the Chief wearing his MJOLNIR armor and referred to by his military rank despite only being a high school student.
Financial analysts see Microsoft’s announcement of the games, while a shock to gamers, as a savvy business move.
“The Halo franchise built the Xbox, no doubt about it,” said Sasha Keyes, analyst for Merrill Lynch. “It makes sense for them to diversify the franchise so that it turns into a soulless marketing gimmick as fast as possible. Hopefully, Microsoft will continue to diversify and go ahead with the release of Project Gotham Racing: Batman Edition.”