Halo: Reachwas originally released nine years ago in 2010 for Xbox 360, but it has been given new life thanks to its new release this week as part ofHalo: The Master Chief Collectionon Xbox One and PC. Interestingly, the game almost had a different title, which developer Bungie had been calling it for quite some time until Microsoft insisted that it be changed.
David Candland, who was responsible for the UI for Bungie’sHalogames (as well asDestinyandDestiny 2), revealed on Twitter that Bungie had been calling the game simply Reach, notHalo: Reach. Bungie’s original intention was to release the game with the title and leave theHaloname off of the game. But Microsoft insisted thatHalobe tacked onto the front of the title.
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Microsoft wanted to make sure the game had the strong brand recognition of theHalofranchise, according to Candland. However, the originalHalo-less title remains on the game’s title screen. At that point in time, Bungie was developing its lastHalogame for Microsoft after going independent and beginning work onDestiny. Before that, Bungie was owned by Microsoft and part of the deal of separating was thatMicrosoft held onto theHalofranchise. Candland said in his tweet that he discussed with the game’s creative director Marcus Lehto if the title screen should also be changed to mirror the official title of the game, but they decided to call the game what they wanted on the title screen. Hence, the one-word Reach title is still what is seen on the title screen.
There’s a similar story about the first Halo game, which Candland also recounted in a follow-up tweet. Bungie originally titledHalo: Combat EvolvedsimplyHalo, but Microsoft was concerned that it would not be clear that the original Xbox launch game was a first-person shooter, soMicrosoft added theCombat Evolvedsubtitleto help define what was then an entirely new IP from a developer who had previously only made games for Mac computers.
There are more stories like this on Twitter, as developers who worked on Halo: Reach share using the hashtag #ReachMemory inspired byHalo: Reach’s PC and Xbox One release, including one about how Bungie almost got a feature in the game that would have allowed players to mount one of the huge Hunter enemies in the game, punch in the back of their skull, and then drive it around and use its attacks. Or another about how the final mission of the game almost didn’t make it in.
Halo: Reachis available now withinHalo: The Master Chief Collectionon PC and Xbox One.
