Microsoft has admitted that it is stuffing up one of its biggest franchises – the game Halo.

Microsoft Game Studios boss Phil Spencer said that the company had lost its way with Halo: Reach and Halo. Future versions of the game will get rid of the anonymous characters of Halo: Reach and Halo: ODST and get back to playing as Master Chief again. He told the August 2011 issue of OXM that people liked playing Master Chief who was the 'John Wayne character of the universe'.

In one of the more serial quotes that would have impressed Douglas Adams, Spencer said that it was time to get back to Master Chief. “Make it simple. It's not Halo-anything, it's Halo 4. It's the beginning of a new trilogy”. He said that Halo was a very story-driven, immersive experience, centred around Master Chief.