Microsoft reportedly thought about launching Halo: The Master Chief Collection on the PlayStation 4, and it remains unclear if the desire is still there.
Colin Moriarty, a former IGN PlayStation journalist, said in a recent episode of Sacred Symbols: A PlayStation Podcast that Microsoft was considering releasing the collection of Halo games on the PlayStation a few years ago.
“I have it on good authority that Master Chief Collection was being talked about on PS4 years ago. Like, I have that on great authority,” Moriarty said, while speaking to co-host Chris Ray Gunn.
Moriarty added that he will not be surprised if Xbox exclusives found their way to the PlayStation 5, as Microsoft seeks to expands the Xbox brand beyond hardware.
Halo Franchise Director, Frank O’Connor, who caught wind of Moriarty’s statement, hinted that there was some truth to bringing the game to the PlayStation 4, but clarified how far along the discussions were for actually doing so.
I’m not aware of the details of conversations between the platforms at a corporate level but the distance between “plans” and some “what if for instance “ conversations is a meaningful gulf. We’ve had plenty of those over the years but not one line of code was even glanced at. pic.twitter.com/lB7mVpOf7E
— Frank (@franklez) June 14, 2019
This doesn’t address or dismiss the veracity of the article btw- I’m just pointing out the semantics as it relates to “plan” – I mean I plan to eat healthy today…
— Frank (@franklez) June 14, 2019
Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which had its PC release announced only this year, would have been a great choice to break the barrier between the Xbox and PlayStation. The Halo series has inspired comics, books, live-action adaptations, toys, and other forms of content, so perhaps it is big enough to make the jump to the rival console. It remains unclear if Microsoft is still considering such a move for the franchise, ahead of the upcoming Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite, the next entry in the highly-acclaimed series, is reportedly the most expensive project in the history of the video game industry. It will be released in the holiday season of 2020, alongside Microsoft’s next-generation console known only as Project Scarlett.
Project Scarlett will feature a custom processor based off AMD’s Ryzen 2, a GPU based off AMD’s Navi, and GDDR6 RAM. The console will be capable of reaching 120 frames per second, support 8K resolution, and enable real-time ray tracking. The Halo Infinite trailer that followed the Project Scarlett reveal did not share much as to what players may expect from the game, though it ended with Master Chief staring out at a Halo that is for some reason shattered and broken.