343 Industries Admit The Lack of Focus On Master Chief In Halo 5 Was A Mistake
Halo 5: Guardians was a major departure for the series when compared to its predecessors. Early marketing material positioned the main character, Master Chief, as a possible bad guy while the finished product saw the campaign split playing time between the famous Spartan and a new group of super soldiers.
This deviation from the an established formula that has proved incredibly popular for Microsoft and the Xbox brand proved controversial. Players were disappointed that they didn’t get to play as Master Chief as much as they wanted, while the campaign didn’t deliver on the marketing hype. Frankie of 343 Industries confirmed that the company was aware of these issues and was taking the feedback onboard for the next instalment in the franchise.
“We took some digs for storytelling in Halo 5, but they were absolutely merited. We very much realized that people wanted Master Chief’s story of Halo 5,” he said in the latest issue of GamesTM. “We definitely marketed in a way that we hoped was going to bring surprise, but for some fans and certainly fans of Master Chief, it was a huge disappointment because they wanted more Chief.”
In a new blog post on 343’s website, the developer explained that speculation about anew Halo game were somewhat unfounded, as a new title in the series has not even been announced yet.
“It’s important to note that there’s a lot of speculation and assumptions being made out there–the next major Halo game hasn’t even been announced let alone any details about what the story may entail. Rest assured that while the studio has received feedback that players wanted to see more of Master Chief in Halo 5, that’s far from the only learnings the team has taken to heart.”