Without Halo, there’s a good chance there’d be no Xbox as we know it today. Bungie’s 2001 shooter was an integral part of the console’s identity, the earliest must-play exclusive that players flocked to. The sci-fi shooter spawned a multimedia juggernaut of books, comics, short films, spinoff games, and a critically acclaimed trilogy that would define gaming in the 2000s.
But as is the case with most creatives, Bungie had aspirations beyond the lucrative series it created. As early as 2009, the developer teased its grand idea for an MMO-shooter hybrid, one even bigger and more ambitious than its console-exclusive space-opera. But before Bungie could set its sights on changing the industry again with Destiny, it had some unfinished business. Fifteen years ago today, Bungie delivered Halo: Reach, an epic goodbye to the series that put them on the map, and a beloved swansong that perfectly bookended the decade’s most important franchise.
