The Last of Us' first few weeks have been a resounding success, and according to Xbox chief Phil Spencer, it’s that show’s blueprint that the Halo series should follow when season 2 comes out on Paramount Plus.
Despite obtaining some pretty impressive viewership relative to Paramount's streaming subscribers, the Halo series was met with mixed reception from critics and even harsher criticism from fans of the games, as opposed to The Last of Us being almost universally praised. As if that wasn’t enough, Master Chief's long-awaited arrival to live action coincided with a rocky launch and lack of updates for Halo Infinite, with Microsoft now ready to move on from the title.
These two topics were discussed during a recent exclusive interview Spencer had with IGN. Microsoft Gaming's CEO admitted that The Last of Us adaptation is “setting an incredibly high bar. Should we all aspire to reach that same bar with the work that we do in television? Absolutely. I could say the same thing in video games.” Spencer pointed to Neil Druckmann as a significant factor in the show’s success. Spencer also addressed the supposed 10-year plan Xbox had for Halo Infinite. Although the CEO stated that Halo will always be crucial to the Xbox platform, he did not specifically refer to the 2021 video game.
Overall, Spencer stuck with the majority calling HBO's The Last of Us “fantastic.” He also said having their competition achieve critical acclaim “inspires us to do the best work that we can,” which is what he wants for the Halo franchise, in games and TV. Paramount's Halo series was renewed for season 2 shortly before its release in March 2022, though no release window has been announced.
The Halo series suffered partly due to so many changes from the franchise’s video game lore, so much that many fans don’t consider it an adaptation but rather a different Halo inspired by characters like Master Chief. Besides details like the Master Chief taking off his helmet and almost spending more time showing his face than not, there are far too many things that don't make sense in the Halo series’ convoluted plot.
Nevertheless, Halo remains one of Paramount's top shows, surpassing Yellowstone and 1883 in total numbers to kick off 2023. So even if The Last of Us standards are too ambitious, there’s a lot of room for improvement for John-117 and Cortana.
Halo is available on Paramount Plus.
Source: IGN