Halo Mega Bloks Game Was 'Exploratory Project'
By Dalton Cooper 11 January 2017
Head of 343 Industries Bonnie Ross discusses the recent footage of the cancelled Halo Mega Bloks game, revealing more details about the ill-fated project.
A couple of days ago, footage surfaced online of a cancelled Halo Mega Bloks game, which has drummed up a bit of excitement among fans of the series. With the cancelled Halo Mega Bloks game getting so much attention, head of 343 Industries Bonnie Ross decided that she should take the time to clear the air about the project.
As stated by Ross in a forum post, the Halo Mega Bloks game was an “exploratory Xbox 360 project” that was in development years ago under the codename “Haggar.” According to Ross, Haggar would have focused on “action, exploration, and user creativity,” with the latter suggesting that it could have had building elements in line with Minecraft or the LEGO games. While it seems like an intriguing idea on paper, Haggar didn’t progress beyond the footage that was revealed a couple of days ago, with Microsoft ultimately scrapping the project.
While Haggar bit the dust, Ross confirmed that the team at 343 is constantly working on creative new Halo prototypes that experiment in realms outside of the franchise’s tried-and-true FPS formula. To date, we’ve seen a couple of Halo spinoff games that play much differently than the core Halo experience, like the real-time strategy Halo Wars games, and the top-down shooters Spartan Assault and Spartan Strike. It’s possible those titles began life similarly to the cancelled Halo Mega Bloks game, and were once considered “exploratory projects.”
We know that new Halo games are in development right now, so perhaps some of 343’s exploratory projects will see the light of day. With the exception of the upcoming Halo Wars 2 and the inevitable Halo 6, it’s hard to say exactly what 343 has up its sleeve. Now that we’ve seen a Halo Mega Bloks game, it seems like 343 is capable of just about anything when it comes to developing new games in the Halo universe.
Perhaps 343 will even decide to revisit the Halo Mega Bloks concept. After all, there seems to be a great deal of interest in the project, as it represents a unique way to experience the Halo universe. Xbox still has a strong relationship with Mega Bloks, with new Halo Mega Bloks toys releasing on a regular basis, so there’s little reason why 343 couldn’t try its hand at a Halo Mega Bloks game in the future.
Whatever unique Halo projects are in the pipeline at 343, it’s reassuring to know that the studio isn’t afraid to experiment with the franchise. While it would have been nice to see the Halo Mega Bloks project materialize, there’s hope that some of 343’s other “exploratory projects” will eventually hit store shelves.
Halo Mega Bloks was in development for Xbox 360.
