The head of Microsoft Game Studios, Phil Spencer has said that the games in the Halo franchise as the players did not play Master Chief in Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.

Spencer said that the software giant "lost its way" with the Halo franchise while speaking in relation to the future of the series. "We kind of lost our way a little bit, I'll say," he admitted.

He said, "The key question for me in managing the studio and the creatives is 'what is Halo?', making sure Halo lives up to what I think gamers fell in love with.” He added that it is reason why he ensured at the unveiling of Halo 4, that the players knew they would play Master Chief.

"We really spent time thinking about the story arc that we want to tell, in the world, to get back to Master Chief. Make it simple. It's not Halo-anything, it's Halo 4. It's the beginning of a new trilogy,” he concluded.