Xbox’s Halo franchise is far from its heyday at the moment, and even the recently released Halo: Campaign Evolved has been unable to ignite the same sense of excitement among the fandom.

As fans continue to lose hope for Halo, one veteran developer has expressed interest in returning to the series. However, a former Bungie developer believes veteran designers returning might still not guarantee a return to form.

Why it matters: The Halo series has slowly declined in popularity over the years despite being Xbox’s most iconic first-party IP.

Sharing his thoughts on the recent discussions around Halo, Niles Sankey, a former Bungie developer who worked on Halo 3, stated that it would be borderline impossible to resurrect the magic of the series’ classic titles.

He explained that even if older developers got back together, those same people may not be able to deliver things that fans loved 20 years ago. According to Niles Sankey, this is because the same developers who made Halo what it is today have changed over time.

They may not necessarily have the same drive that they did two decades ago. The former Bungie developer also explained that Bungie’s magic came from everyone who was part of the team, so having a few veteran developers returning to Halo would not be enough.

Moreover, he believes that modern fans might not always agree with those same developers‘ approach. Niles Sankey says that they always sought innovation, but fans seem to want more of the same today.

As someone who worked at old school Bungie in its heyday, I just want to be honest. It would be very difficult (impossible?) to resurrect the old magic.

With all that said, the former Bungie designer still believes Microsoft consulting veteran developers would ultimately help Halo in the long run. He remains optimistic about the series and the entire industry.

What do you think about the ex-Bungie developer’s perspective? Share in the comments and on the Tech4Gamers Forums.