With development of future Halo games now being handled by Activision Blizzard, former franchise creative director Frank O’Connor has issued pointed advice to the Call of Duty publisher on how to rescue the legendary sci-fi shooter franchise. O’Connor, who spent more than two decades with Halo, took to LinkedIn on September 25 to lay out a series of strategic recommendations aimed at steering the next mainline entry back toward its former glory.
The comments arrive amid a period of significant upheaval in the gaming industry, as Activision Blizzard assumes stewardship of a series it never originally created. O’Connor’s intervention offers one of the most detailed public perspectives yet from someone intimately familiar with the franchise’s history, blending practical development guidance with a call to reclaim the creative talent that has been scattered across the industry.
A Voice With Credentials Speaks Out
O’Connor’s perspective carries considerable weight given his extensive tenure with the franchise. He first joined Halo as a writer and community manager before rising to serve as the game’s franchise creative director from 2003 to 2023. This two-decade run means he witnessed the series evolve through its most celebrated installments and understands the creative forces that made it resonate with millions of players worldwide.
His LinkedIn post, published on September 25, came in response to commentary from Xbox’s former social media manager, Genevieve Harrison, who had been discussing Activision Blizzard’s development tactics. Drawing on his deep expertise, O’Connor offered a set of guiding principles before expanding on specific creative directions the franchise could pursue.
“Pro-Tip: Do NOT tie it to hardware/services launch cycles, do not try to force it into a shape (or aging platform) that it can’t fit and do NOT abandon sandbox. Pro-Pro-Tip: Hire Bungie, Halo Studios and other laid-off folk who are bursting w. talent and ideas that got nerfed or shut down over the years.”
Frank O’Connor, former Halo franchise creative director
Three Paths Back to Glory
O’Connor outlined three distinct approaches the next Halo game could take to reclaim the franchise’s status. The first involves returning to a “classic” Halo experience, one that emphasizes sandbox gameplay, movement, and the core shooter mechanics that defined the series’ early success. This version would be “tailored to a core audience” and “scaled to be successful with that core audience and attractive to a broader one so it can grow,” according to his post.
The second option pushes toward something more ambitious and unconventional. O’Connor suggested a “something new and modern” reinvention that could take the form of an action-sandbox game offering a fresh take on the first-person shooter genre, or an action RPG that diverges significantly from tradition. He noted that such a “surprising but fantastic” reinvention could succeed through a strong narrative and creative use of the franchise’s established intellectual property.
The third path leans directly into Activision Blizzard’s proven strengths. O’Connor proposed a sandbox game built around the “player, progression, and business models” that the publisher has become renowned for through franchises like Call of Duty. Given the publisher’s experience in this area, he suggested this concept could become “a big annual or semi-annual spectacle” delivering consistent content to its player base.
Looking Ahead
Despite offering these concrete suggestions, O’Connor tempered expectations, acknowledging that none of the proposed directions are “easy, guaranteed, or necessarily viable.” Nonetheless, he expressed optimism that at least one approach “could be successful” now that Activision has taken the reins of development.
The gaming community has responded to O’Connor’s comments with interest, as fans and analysts alike weigh the challenges facing a franchise in transition. His emphasis on retaining the sandbox design philosophy and reclaiming lost talent reflects broader concerns about whether Activision can honor the series’ creative heritage while imprinting its own production style.
As Activision Blizzard continues to shape the future of Halo, the industry will be watching closely to see which direction the publisher ultimately embraces. O’Connor’s insights provide a valuable roadmap from someone who helped build the franchise from its earliest days, offering both caution and hope for what lies ahead for one of gaming’s most iconic series.
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