There have been two huge Xbox-owned franchises turned into TV shows in recent times. One was universally acclaimed and won a bunch of awards. The other was Halo. But, having been dropped by Paramount after two fairly tepid seasons, it seems the franchise is being given a new lease of life by Netflix.
At least, it is in some markets that we can confirm. Scrolling through Netflix’s upcoming list here in the UK, lo and behold, Master Chief is hitting the service on March 1. That’s not too far away. Alas, my U.S. colleagues don’t currently see the same, but that’s not to say it isn’t happening. Licensing is rarely our friend.
Ignoring the fact that Halo didn’t exactly set the world on fire, certainly not holding even the smallest candle to the magnificent Fallout, I never thought it was set up particularly well to succeed.
It’s like in gaming. If you want people to play your games, you put them where the players are. For PC, that means Steam. For console, that means PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, as well as Xbox. All tactics Microsoft is employing. Halo was a Paramount+ exclusive. That’d be like Metallica playing their only show of the year in Greenland. The people, they just aren’t there.
I haven’t seen Halo, mostly because I didn’t subscribe to Paramount+ long enough. It’s easily the worst of the myriad of streaming platforms for the variety and quality of content on there. I’d wager I’m not alone, either.
There’s also the other aspect of Netflix picking up Halo. Not to get anyone carried away, but imagine it does well. Like, really well. Might there be a third, perhaps better, season on the horizon? That’s all hopes and dreams, of course, but in terms of getting a wider audience, this is definitely the smart play. As someone who’s not really into Halo the game, maybe I’ll enjoy Halo the series? Who knows.
If not, at least Fallout is getting a second season.
