Halo 4 Almost Happened


Even though the Halo universe has rolled on without him, fans of the franchise have always had a soft spot in their hearts for Master Chief. The faceless Spartan became a dear companion over the course of the original three Halo games, and his absence from the series has been sorely missed. To further rub salt in those wounds, Bungie has said that they originally considered making Halo 4 starring one of gaming’s most notable protagonists, but ultimately decided against it.

“Even before the idea to build a game based around Reach came about, a lot of other concepts were explored, up to and including a proper Halo 4, where Master Chief was going to wake up from cryo-sleep and we were going to tell that story,” said Bungie community manager Brian Jarrard.

Unfortunately, the game never made it out of the earliest stages of planning because “it just wasn’t as interesting to the team to just pick up where that left off and all the baggage that came with it.” The Chief won’t even make a cameo appearance in Reach despite the fact that he’s an integral part of the lore there; sadly, it seems the old man will be remaining in cryo sleep, possibly forever.


If we have truly seen the end of Master Chief then gamers can start the debate about whether he went out like a hero or a chump. Some would say that after the noble yet lonely charge Master Chief led against both the Covenant and the Flood that an eternity of slumber, waiting for the time humanity needs him once more, is a fitting capper. Others would prefer he get the honors and accolades he deserves, being decommissioned as a hero and finally popping off that damn helmet so we can get a look at his face.

It’s also interesting that Bungie would opt to turn away from a character who carved out a place in pop culture that is no weaker today than it was five years ago. It’s like Nintendo abandoning Mario or Sony abruptly turning away from Ratchet & Clank. Perhaps Bungie’s decision to expand the Halo universe to other characters was a noble one; then again, it may just be dumb. Halo: Reach is all but guaranteed to be a massive success even without Master Chief, but just imagine what the reaction would have been if franchise fans were allowed to see him one last time…