Head honcho of 343 Industries (developer of Halo) Bonnie Ross has spoken about her intentions and interest with Microsoft’s shooter franchise. When she helped create 343 Industries back in 2009, not everyone at Microsoft backed Halo, or even thought it would be a success – can you even imagine what Microsoft would be without it now?
In an interview with Bloomberg Bussiness she said, ‘People felt like, ‘Let’s get another Halo or two out, and it’s the end of the franchise.”
‘The thing I asked for was: If I take it over, I want to be George Lucas,” she later said, ‘I want to own everything, and I want to do things differently.’
George Lucas created the Star Wars franchise and continued to be a part of it until he sold the series to Disney back in 2012. This is essentially what Ross is saying she wants as her game plan for the Halo series, and for her career at 343 in general.
The initial negative response towards Halo has since, understandably, melted away and Ross even said in a previous interview that Microsoft hopes to string out Halo for another 30 years… At least.
Frank O’Connor, Halo’s franchise director, was working at Bungie when Halo got turned over to Microsoft. He features in Bloomberg’s story, recalling that he thought Ross was going to be another ‘suit’, only caring about the business and corporate side of things rather than the game.
‘Bonnie came in and really surprised everyone,’ he said. ‘Because she’d read all the novels, she was deeply immersed in the fiction, and she’d played all the games.’
Halo 5: Guardians is due to release in just two days on Xbox One, as the latest addition to the franchise.