Secret Level Could’ve Had a Halo & Doom Crossover Episode

The first season of Amazon Prime’s Secret Level series was released last month, offering anthology tales based on a number of popular video games. For the series, co-creators Tim Miller and Dave Wilson actively pursued a number of popular gaming franchises, from old favorites like Mega Man and Pac-Man, to more recent hits, like Sifu and New World. Now that the debut season is available, we’re starting to learn more about the games that were considered for the series, and which ones didn’t make the final cut. In an interview with Collider, Miller and Wilson revealed that they wanted to make crossover episodes, including one that would have combined the worlds of Halo and Doom.

“The creative director at id [Software] is a good friend of ours, and so are folks at Microsoft, so we made a big plea because one of the things both Tim and I would love to do is do something that isn’t currently available in the games, like crossovers,” Wilson told Collider. “We wanted to make a Master Chief/Doom Slayer crossover episode, and I spent a whole weekend crafting this impassioned letter of my childhood. And it’s exactly what Tim said; they were like, ‘Nah.’”

Obviously, the prospect of Doom Slayer and Master Chief working together in an episode of Secret Level sounds pretty amazing, but it’s easy to see why Microsoft might have declined the offer. A crossover between Doom and Halo would have been a huge deal, but it’s possible Xbox and Bethesda want to keep those two universes separate. It’s also possible that Halo’s TV rights with the now-cancelled Paramount+ show might have stood in the way. Miller mentions there are “a lot of lawyers” to satisfy when it comes to all these video game rights. However, it simply could have been a case of Microsoft not wanting to participate; the company also turned down a request for Half-Life.

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As Miller and Wilson hint several times in the Collider interview, there were a lot of hurdles to overcome to make Secret Level happen. A second season of Secret Level has already been confirmed by Amazon, and the Collider interview does broach the possibility that companies that opted not to participate in Season 1 might be more inclined to do so with Season 2. Microsoft could be a little more open as a result, but whether that means signing off on an episode centered on a single game, or a crossover like the creators wanted, is impossible to say. Miller and Wilson say that they’re “hopeful that it opens doors.” However, it remains to be seen what the future might bring for the show.

Are you disappointed we didn’t get a Halo and Doom crossover episode? Do you think Microsoft was wise to turn down the offer? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!