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RTS Halo Mod Stopped by Microsoft

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the harshing-your-groove dept.

Headcase88 writes "Microsoft has officially asked the creators of Halogen to stop development at once. Halogen was an RTS mod being developed by Halo fans for the past three years. From the website: ' I was going to write a big sappy letter here, but what's the point. So..that's it then, I guess. The forums, site, and Moddb profile will all be shut down within the week. I can't say it hasn't been fun. It's a shame it has to end like this, but I suppose that's how it goes. Thanks, guys, for all the time you've spent supporting us. It's been a pleasure. We hate this as much as you do.' "

3 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Wait... by Enoxice · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm confused...is this a C&C mod taking place in the Halo universe? Yeah, I guess I can't blame MS for shutting them down. But what's stopping them from removing Halo references, changing the graphics/story a bit and reopening?

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  2. Re: RTS Halo Mod Stopped by Microsoft by Osty · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why invest three years in a mod when you know the environment is hostile?

    That's a good question. Bungie (and Microsoft) have been historically non-hostile with regards to Halo properties (see Red vs. Blue, for example). However, in just about every case where Bungie/Microsoft have given implicit or explicit approval, the authors of such works came to them before-hand (or soon afterwards). So, given that Bungie is fan-friendly, and that there are probably more than a few Microsoft and Bungie employees who would love to play a Halo RTS, why didn't the Halogen guys talk to Microsoft three years ago?

  3. Re:Too bad... by tambo · · Score: 3, Interesting
    C&C is EAs property, not Microsofts. So if this mod would have become successfull, it would mean more C&C copies sold and EA makes more money, not exactly in the interest of Microsoft, since they get zero out of it.

    Not necessarily true.

    First, Microsoft clearly loses nothing from this mod, since it's unlikely to displace their sales of their own properties.

    Second, the goodwill generated by the Halo mod - nostalgia, fondness for the franchise, etc. - may well have sold more copies of Halo for it... without Microsoft having had to lift a finger.

    (Then there's also the small bit about not pissing off all of the Halo fans who wanted to see the mod.)

    So it seems kind of ridiculous for Microsoft to make this move. I'm guessing that its primary interest is in retaining control of the dogma surrounding the Halo universe. Doesn't seem sufficient justification to me, but at least there's a core of rationality here.

    - David Stein

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