Summary
While theHalofranchise has waned in popularity in recent years, the series as a whole still stands as one of the most influential first-person shooters of all time. Since its debut in 2001, the franchise has had to consistently contend against the likes ofCall of DutyandBattlefield, despite the clear thematic differences between each of them.
Many would point toCall of Dutyas the largest and most significant competitor toHaloover the years, with both IPs having stayed firmly in their own lanes during the past two decades. With that being said, the likely approval of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition could see the two FPS giants crossover in ways that fans would have previously thought impossible.
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Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard Deal: An Alliance Between Call of Duty and Halo
Halohas been the face of Microsoft and Xbox for quite some time, being one of the most successful gaming IPs to be spearheaded by Microsoft’s gaming branch. Despite this, the glory days of the franchise ae clearly behind it, and Microsoft is looking further afield for other IPs to pick up the slack. This is best evidenced in the extremely high-profileattempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard King by Microsoft, with the tech giant offering a record-setting $69 billion to purchase the company in early 2022.
If successful, the deal would see Microsoft take ownership of some massive names likeWorld of Warcraft,Overwatch,Diablo, and most importantly,Call of Duty. When considering thatCoDalone makes billions in revenue each year, it is no wonder that Microsoft made such an eye-watering bid for Activision Blizzard, as this success could easily bleed over to other Microsoft ventures. While the scale of this deal has led to a lot of regulatory red tape, recent developments indicate that Microsoft could complete their acquisition within the coming months, or even weeks.
This would open up a huge amount of opportunity for crossovers between Microsoft IPs, and collaborationbetweenHaloandCall of Dutywould be fascinating to any long-term fan of first-person shooters. A complete departure from their long history of competition, bothHaloandCall of Dutywould be actively looking to help one another post-acquisition, and collaborative events between both franchises would be a great way to accomplish this.
A simple way to go about this would be to feature iconicHalocharacters as playable operators inCall of Duty, with the likes of Master Chief and the Arbiter being perfect candidates.Halojust recently showed its affinity for this kind of collaboration with itsRainbow Six Siegecrossover, which saw the operatorSledge receive his own Master Chief skin. The success of this crossover could easily be replicated inCall of Duty, with things likeHalo-inspired weapon blueprints andWarzonevehicles being another example of the crossover potential between both franchises.
Of course,Call of Duty-related content could also be added toHalo, with armor cores themed aroundCoDcharacters like Ghost and Soapbeing a straightforward way to bridge the two IPs. For a more hands-on approach, Microsoft could offer exclusive content forHaloandCoDthat can be unlocked by players for engaging in both titles. PlayingHaloduring a certain event could unlock content forCall of Dutyand vice versa, encouraging players to experience both series simultaneously. Despite being adversaries for some time, the future ofHaloandCall of Dutyis shaping up to be a mutually beneficial one after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
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