Halo 2: Anniversary Being Discussed, Original Multiplayer Needed

The Halo: Combat Evoled Anniversary remastering marked 10 years since the game released and pioneered console shooters. The game which popularised Xbox Live, Halo 2, could get the same treatment.

Microsoft probably isn’t going to remaster every Halo game, but Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 certainly hold a significant place in gaming history

Sources speaking to video game website GamerCenterOnline have said the studio is discussing Halo 2: Anniversary. 2015 would be ten years since the game release, so it would be a little odd if it came out this year or next.

The same source told the website Halo 4 would include elements from Halo: Reach and a lapse of time would be used to legitimize the include elements (that’s Master Chief being asleep for four years after Halo 3).

Microsoft’s corporate vice president Phil Spencer said Halo 2: Anniversary, or whatever the final product may be called, has been discussed. Beyond that he didn’t reveal information in the interview with IGN, but if the product was to release then its most memorable feature – multiplayer – has to be included.

Multiplayer Remaining Intact

The downside is that it would cannibalize whatever Halo game is releasing alongside Halo 2: Anniversary (we’ll just call it that for convenience sake). Halo: Combat Evolved has an incredibly memorable campaign, and that feature was at the centerpiece of rezzed-up game with the ability to switch back and forth between the original and new product to see how technology has advanced in ten years.

And putting Halo 2 multiplayer maps into Halo 4, or the following Halo games, probably wouldn’t be as convincing. You’re tying the Halo 4 experience to maps designed in a different setting, and for different mechanics. 343 Industries brought back Halo: Combat Evolved Maps for Halo: Reach, but it didn’t feel like the original Halo’s multiplayer. There’s the realistic possibility Halo 2’s multiplayer would become incredibly popular, maybe even closing in on the retail Halo.

So what’s the solution? Probably to release Halo 4, wait a couple of years, release Halo 2: Anniversary and then release Halo 5 a year after. Halo games typically peak during three years post-release, and three years from now will take us to 2016 when the next Halo game for the Durango Xbox will probably be available.