“Breaking Halo news” has been trending on Twitter today following a rumor claiming Xbox was potentially putting the series on ice. The rumor came the way of a Twitter user by the name of Hailey Eira, a source with no track record in the business of scoops but with a few 1,000 followers. It’s perhaps the latter that is responsible for the rumor garnering some attention.
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If you missed the rumor, it claimed that Halo was no longer considered a flagship series by Xbox as of a few months ago. To this end, it was claimed the next Halo game will be the final Halo game if it does not meet expectations. The rumor added said Halo game will have half the budget of Halo infinite. There was much more than this, but these were the main points of the scuttlebutt.
At the time of its posting, many were skeptical of the rumor for the aforementioned reasons. This isn’t the first rumor to paint a gloom and doom picture of 343 Industries and the future of Halo, and it likely won’t be the last; however Halo fans can seemingly rest assure there’s nothing to this latest claim.
Taking to Twitter, John Junyszek, a senior community manager at 343 Industries, referenced the rumor and essentially chalked it up to nothing more than a conspiracy. “Quote this with ‘BREAKING HALO NEWS; and follow it up with wild declarations. Let’s see who’s got the best theories and conspiracies,” said Junyszek
To be fair, there’s been plenty of instances of rumors being denied by developers and publishers only for said rumors to end up being true, or at least partially true. However, there’s no reason to expect this is an example of that. Not only does the source have no track record, but the claims themselves raise many red flags.ย
While the rumor may be completely false, there’s no denying that the Halo series has seen better days. It’s not as prominent of a series for Xbox or the industry as it used to be, and it’s unclear how big its future is under 343 industries, which so far has failed to replicate the success of the series’ golden era under Bungie.
