Microsoft’s Phil Spencer: Discussion About Halo for Xbox One at Launch at Cost of Halo 4

Microsoft Games Studio head Phil Spencer revealed an interesting little tidbit to Kotaku recently. In light of the next Halo, which was revealed at this year’s E3, Spencer stated that there was a discussion to have it ready for the Xbox One’s launch. This would’ve meant no Halo 4 for the Xbox 360 though.

“A couple of years ago we had the discussion of: ‘Should we do Halo at launch and not do Halo 4 last year?’ But I was committed to getting Halo 4 done last year, and there was no way we were going to turn around with 343 a full Halo game in a year. So that was the plan we set on. I feel good about that.”

And while each game takes a while to release, Spencer defended this, stating that, “Unlike some franchises that manage through 1,000 people, Halo is 343 and that team obviously has tight control. They are our Halo team.

“A discussion around having a Halo game at launch – a true Halo at launch, meaning like a Halo 4 or 5-size game – would have been something we’d have had to start two or three years ago. We had the discussion, and we thought having Halo 4 come out when it came out from 343 and having them really land their first full version of Halo that they developed internally would be great for the 360 customers, great for 343 in shipping something.”

Are you satisfied with being able to play Halo 4 at the cost of a next-gen Halo for the Xbox One’s launch? Let us know in the comments below.