With 2026 soon approaching alongside the 25th anniversary of the Halo franchise, the sci-fi video game series is on the precipice of expanding exponentially. Currently, there are rumors of a sequel to Halo Infinite being developed, a ground-up remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, and ports of Halo: The Master Chief Collection to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. While all of these rumored projects are based directly on previous Halo games, Halo Studios has the potential to develop more games based on the franchises’ expanded media, such as comics, books, and even the Halo Paramount+ show. One possible Halo game in particular, the long-demanded Halo Wars 3, could be based on deep lore from the novel Halo: Divine Wind.
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Halo: Divine Wind Explained
First published in 2021 and written by veteran Halo author Troy Denning, Halo: Divine Wind directly builds off of the events of Halo Wars 2: Awakening The Nightmare as well as previous Denning books Halo: Retribution, Halo: Shadows of Reach, and Halo: Sacrifice. In Retribution, ONI Veta Lopis and her group of Spartan IIIs Ash-G099, Mark-G313, and Olivia-G291, managed to join the Brute-led Covenant remnant faction, the Keepers of the One Freedom, in order to keep an eye on the machinations of its leader Castor. Following the brief Flood outbreak in Awakening the Nightmare, Banished forces managed to gain access to the Forerunner Dreadnought from High Charity on the Ark in Sacrifice. Here, the Banished unknowingly unleashed remnants of the original Covenant led by a San’Shyuum Prelate.
Banished forces managed to recover fragments of a Forerunner slipspace crystal that would be used to reactivate a portal on the Ark to return Atriox to the Milky Way galaxy. With the portal on Earth under Cortana’s control, Atriox ordered Escharum and the Keepers to uncover a hidden Ark portal on Reach to allow him to return. The Keepers succeeded but stole Atriox’s Lich just as he stepped on the planet and headed to the Ark in order to activate the installation and begin the Great Journey the Keepers still believed in. On the Ark, the Keepers briefly aligned themselves with the Prelate to activate the installation and the Halo array, but they were ultimately thwarted by Lopis, the Spirit of Fire, and Banished forces.
The Ending of Halo: Divine Wind
Over the course of the Keeper’s journey on the Ark, nearly all of the faction are eliminated save for Castor and an Elite blademaster called Inslaan ‘Gadogai. Just as the two were about to activate the Ark, they come to the realization that the installation is no holy site and that the Great Journey was a farce. However, in response to Lopis’s betrayal, the two seek to achieve vengeance against all of their enemies. Mark-G313 was killed by the Prelate, but Lopis, Ash-G099, and Olivia-G291 managed to reunite with the Spirit of Fire and join their ongoing fight against the Banished and remaining Covenant forces on the Ark.
The storyline of Veta Lopis and Castor has been featured in five books, including Halo: Last Light, Halo: Retribution, Halo: Shadows of Reach, Halo: Divine Wind, and Halo: Silent Storm.
The Potential of a Halo Wars 3 From Halo: Divine Wind
It’s been nearly 10 years since Halo Wars 2 first released and fans have been longing to see the resolution of the conflict on the Ark as well as the plot point suggested from its legendary ending. When completed on Legendary difficulty, players witness Dr. Ellen Anders aboard the newly constructed Halo Installation 09 traveling in slipspace before it is suddenly stopped by one of Cortana’s Forerunner Guardians. While the ongoing fight between the Banished and the Spirit has been followed up on numerous times, fans still have no clue what happened to Anders all these years later. Based on Forerunner and Created concept art for Halo Wars 2, this ending was presumably going to be addressed in a cut DLC campaign, but this storyline was abandoned for unknown reasons.
Given how it took seven years for Halo Wars 2 to come out after Halo Wars 1 and how Halo Wars 2 is almost 10 years old, Halo Studios should strive to address Halo Wars 2’s lingering plot threads in Halo Wars 3 soon. This Halo Wars 3 will undoubtedly be different from Creative Assembly’s original concepts for the sequel, but it can still follow-up on storylines on the Ark and beyond in satisfying ways. Instead of just the Banished and UNSC, Halo Wars 3 can also feature the Covenant and Created factions, since both still have some numbers left in the Halo universe. These factions could give Halo Wars more unit variety than ever seen before and help shed light on affairs in the universe beyond Master Chief’s story.
Halo Wars 3’s Possible Storylines
Halo Wars 3 could pick up right where Divine Wind left off, with the Spirit of Fire struggling to survive a three-pronged war on the Ark. With a portal reactivated, the Spirit could send Lopis and her Spartan IIIs alongside a small entourage through the portal looking for Anders’ Halo ring. The rest of the campaign could then be split between two stories, with one focused on the Spirit fighting Banished and Covenant forces and the other focused on Lopis recovering Anders from the Created whilst striving to get UNSC reinforcements. This could tie-in with the rest of the Halo universe by having Let ‘Volir struggle to maintain control amid Atriox and Escharum’s apparent deaths and Lopis becoming shocked when she learns of the Infinity’s disappearance.
- Released
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February 21, 2017
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