‘Halo 5: Guardians’ Could Come To PC, Halo Boss Exec Says There’s “Plenty Of Chance”
Halo 5: Guardians will be the latest installment in the storied Halo franchise to launch next week, exclusively on the Xbox One. However, the fires have been fueled in many PC gamer’s hearts who would love to see the Halo name grace their heavy-duty rigs in the future. Ever since Phil Spencer, current head of Xbox, started to talk about bringing Microsoft back into the fold with Windows Gaming, Halo 5: Guardians has been seen as the olive branch that would prove to PC gamers that Microsoft is really taking the platform seriously again.
Well, thanks to a livestream with gaming website GamesRadar, many PC fans have finally been given some real hope that Halo 5 could mark the return of the Master Chief on PC.
Frank O’Conner, an executive at 343 Industries, the studio developing the Halo franchise, has spoken more candidly than any other Microsoft exec about the potential for Halo 5: Guardians to move to the Windows platform.
“Microsoft has made a huge commitment trying to normalize the Windows experience across multiple platforms,” O’Connor said on the GamesRadar livestream. “You see elements of Windows 10 are going to appear in Xbox and Cortana and stuff like that.”
So, you’re telling me there’s a chance?
“There is plenty of chance that Halo 5 could appear on the PC. Nothing to announce at this point, [but] you know, we developed the game on an Intel platform. It wouldn’t be the hardest thing in the world to move it to PC and take advantage of PC stuff. But nothing I announce today on this chat.”
Halo 5: Guardians is a game that would likely flourish on PC. Many PC gamers still own consoles for the sheer purpose of playing Halo. In fact, many felt the announcement of Halo Wars 2 on PC and Xbox earlier this year was a massive troll job to fans who were specifically looking for Halo 5 to appear on their gaming rigs. However, now that an actual exec is speaking candidly about the possibility, it’s a more promising prospect than PC gamers had before. It’s a start.
It’s understandable why some execs would want to hold off on announcing a PC port for the simple fact that the longevity of the Xbox One depends on having something like a Halo or other big-name exclusives to draw players to the platform. Halo 5: Guardians will undoubtedly move Xbox One systems this fall, likely only being beat out on the NPD charts by Call of Duty: Black Ops III this holiday season.
However, the recent push for Microsoft to essentially make, as Spencer told GameSpot recently, Windows and Xbox homogeneous with each other would give credence to the idea that what O’Conner is saying could be part of future plans for Halo and Windows 10. With Halo Wars 2, the various twin-stick shooters that graced Windows devices, as well as the promise of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition coming to Windows, it stands to reason Halo 5: Guardians could eventually do so.
The Halo franchise has often been credited for building the Xbox brand, with many Xbox execs publicly saying that Xbox wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Halo. This cache makes it seem as though Bungie’s creation was always going to be on Xbox, even though it was originally announced by Steve Jobs while running on a Mac. However, the franchise eventually released on Mac, PC and Xbox as Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001, and its success has built a brand that has lasted fourteen years and counting.
Halo 5: Guardians could potentially do the same for Windows 10 users. In addition, the quote from O’Conner about the developer taking “advantage of PC stuff” is something that could really allow the Halo franchise to shine, showing the full potential of what Halo 5; Guardians could be, with actual native 1080p support, 60-fps and above, as well as the ability to bring the game into PC resolutions such as 1440p up to 4K.
What are your thoughts on Halo 5: Guardians potentially coming to PC? Are you elated to possibly see the game on PC, or upset that a current console exclusive like Halo 5: Guardians could be broadening its horizon? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Microsoft]