343 Industries doesn't rule out a spinoff

Oct 2, 2015 11:44 GMT  ·  By

Halo 5: Guardians developer 343 Industries admits that there's nothing stopping it from releasing a standalone, perhaps free-to-play version of the game's multiplayer Warzone mode. Even so, the studio emphasizes that the online experience is deeply tied to the new title and its regular Arena multiplayer mode.

Halo 5: Guardians promises to deliver not just a bold new story starring franchise protagonist Master Chief but also an array of enhancements over the core recipe of the series, chief among which being an all-new multiplayer mode called Warzone, which joins the classic Arena online experience.

Warzone might appear as a free-to-play spinoff

While talking with GamesOnNet, 343 Industries Multiplayer Design Director Kevin Franklin explains that the online mode, which blends together competitive and cooperative mechanics, is proving to be so fun that it could end up as a spinoff in the future.

He admits that there's nothing stopping the team from branching out the Warzone mechanics into a standalone experience, similar to the currently Russian-only Halo Online free-to-play game.

However, he also adds that Warzone is an integral part of the Halo 5 online experience, as it provides a great change of pace from the Arena mode and lets fans jump back and forth between the two game types in order to avoid boredom.

"You know, there’s nothing really stopping us," he says about a Warzone spinoff. "I think what they would want us to do is make sure players were still connected to the Arena experience, so players could jump back and forth between them. All of the customization systems and the requisition system is going to be shared between Warzone and Arena, and we really do feel that there’s a bunch of players that really enjoy jumping back and forth."

Right now, Halo 5: Guardians is set to make its debut only on the Xbox One platform at the end of the month. The future of the series will also bring Halo Wars 2 to PC and Xbox One next year. The rest is still a mystery.