Microsoft's flagship franchise has given longtime Halo fans plenty of reasons to be excited about the iconic Xbox staple over the past few months. November and December saw the release of the long-awaited Halo Infinite as the sixth main-series entry into the series that celebrated its 20th-anniversary last year, and the highly-anticipated Halo TV series aired its first episode last week. Now, as part of the celebration surrounding the debut of the live-action series, Microsoft and Paramount+ have partnered with several social media platforms to help fans celebrate the launch.
The release of the Halo live-action series has been a long time coming for the franchise as the ambitious project was first announced back in 2013 with big names like Steven Spielberg on board. Development of the series would be tumultuous as the series would change hands multiple times with several different television networks looking to develop the show before Halo finally landed with Paramount+ last year. Now, as passionate fans of Master Chief are finally getting their chance to watch the iconic Spartan in live-action, Halo has teamed up with Facebook Messenger and Instagram to debut a special filter for the occasion.
Facebook and Instagram officially unveiled the AR filter last week with users in group chats able to select a special "Halo Silver Team" filter putting each member of the group in the iconic Spartan uniforms. The filter assigns the Spartan suits worn by Master Chief's Silver Team with up to four different looks available and also allows users to change their backgrounds to some of the iconic set pieces from the show. The filter also lets users create various special effects by performing different actions like raising their eyebrows and opening their mouths.
While Microsoft has heavily promoted the premiere of the Halo TV series in recent weeks, the series has not escaped scrutiny from some of the franchise's most hardcore fans. Many long-time Halo fans were critical of the redesign to Cortana, a central character throughout the franchise, while others have been critical of previous trailers seeming distant from what long-time fans would expect of a Halo adaptation.
2021 not only marked the 20th anniversary of Halo as a franchise but also coincided with the 20th anniversary for the platform that spawned the series, the Xbox. Last year saw Microsoft celebrate its now-iconic gaming brand not only with new titles like Halo Infinite but also with plenty of tributes to Xbox's storied history. As one of the original Xbox's launch titles, Halo has become synonymous with the Xbox brand throughout its 20 years, and the popularity of both Halo Infinite and the Halo TV series should ensure the franchise continues to thrive well into the future.
Halo is now available on Paramount+ with new episodes airing every Thursday
Source: ScreenRant