When most people think of landmark exclusive video game franchises for the Xbox line of consoles, most will probably think of Halo and Gears of War. For about 20 years, these two series have remained as Xbox’s most popular and celebrated exclusives, spawning sequels, spin-offs, books, comics, and esports multiplayer competitions. Both Halo and Gears of War are best known for their intriguing science fiction campaigns and addictive gameplay, which have remained relatively consistent over the years. However, despite the two franchises’ long history as Xbox’s go-to exclusives, the two have seldom collaborated. With the introduction of Halo’s Fracture alternative timelines, Halo Infinite may be able to cross over with Gears of War: E-Day in fun and interesting ways.
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The History of Halo and Gears of War Collaborations
Halo and Gears of War both helped Xbox become a successful brand in the early 21st century. Halo: Combat Evolved was the original Xbox’s killer app and launch title thanks to its cinematic campaign and engaging gameplay. Halo 2 made breakthrough innovations with its online multiplayer and continued to make waves with its complex narrative thanks to the Arbiter. While Gears of War 1 wasn’t a launch title for the Xbox 360, it was released early enough in the console’s life to become one of the console’s earliest platinum hits and was one of the most played multiplayer games until Halo 3. Gears of War’s brutal narrative combined with its iconic chainsaw lancer and innovative cover system quickly guaranteed the Xbox 360 would be a success.
The Xbox 360 era saw multiple Halo and Gears of War games released, but the two franchises wouldn’t officially cross over until the reign of the Xbox One. 2013’s Killer Instinct reboot fighting game was the first place the two Xbox exclusives would come together in fights to the death. In Killer Instinct’s third season, both the Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam and General RAAM were released as DLC fighters. Here, fans could finally see how one of the galaxy’s deadliest Sangheili would handle against one of Sera’s most merciless Locust warriors. Both Arbiter and RAAM could be customized to appear as other ranks of Elites and Locust soldiers such as Halo: Reach’s Zealots and Theron Guards.
Gears 5’s Halo: Reach Collab Explained
2019’s Gears 5 was the first Gears of War game to introduce playable characters from beyond the wars of Sera. This first began with the inclusion of Terminator: Dark Fate’s T-800 and Sarah Connor alongside Catherine-B320 and Emile-A239 from Halo: Reach. Players could unlock these Spartan 3s by purchasing the Halo: Reach character pack or Gears 5 Ultimate Edition, and both Spartans could be played in Horde, Versus, and Escape game modes. Kat and Emile came equipped with their own ultimate abilities, such as the drop shield reminiscent of Halo: Reach’s bubble shield armor ability and the hologram reminiscent of the hologram armor ability.
Both Emile and Kat’s original voice actors Jamie Hector and Alona Tal from
Halo: Reach
reprised their roles for
Gears 5
, whereas Keith David did not voice the Arbiter for
Killer Instinct
and was substituted with Ray Chase.
Halo Infinite’s Potential Crossover with Gears of War: E-Day
Since Gears 5 there has been no crossover between Halo and Gears of War, but Halo Studios and The Coalition should strive to collaborate once more for the upcoming release of Gears of War: E-Day. The two developers could bring more Halo characters into E-Day’s multiplayer similar to Gears 5, such as Master Chief, Agent Locke, or Atriox. Master Chief and Locke could play similarly to ordinary COG soldiers, while Atriox could play similarly to Locust troops. The Coalition could create new Halo-themed skins to go along with these characters, including a red or blue energy chainsaw lancer reminiscent of the red and blue energy swords from the Covenant and Banished. However, the crossover doesn’t have to be restricted to Gears of War: E-Day alone.
The Coalition could work with Halo Studios to develop a new Fracture armor core for Halo Infinite featuring new Spartan armor inspired by those worn by COG and Locust soldiers. Previous Fracture armor cores such as Yoroi and Eaglestrike are already based on alternate Halo universes, so this Gears armor core could be one Halo universe where similar events to Sera’s wars occurred. Halo players could finally wear Spartan armor based on the iconic appearances of the tragic Carmine brothers, special ops Onyx Guards, and lethal Theron Guards. This collaboration could finally bring Xbox’s two most beloved franchises together in a way never seen before and help increase player interest in both game series.
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