Reclaimer Saga

This article is about the second phase of the Halo series. For articles of the same name, see Reclaimer (disambiguation).

A promotional image for the original Reclaimer Trilogy

"The journey is the important part, the growth is the important part, and so really where does he still need to go as a human? That became the key to, not just the story of Halo 4, but the entire trilogy."

— Christopher Schlerf, Former Lead Writer

The Reclaimer Saga, originally the Reclaimer Trilogy, was set to be the next generation of the Halo video game franchise, following Bungie's original trilogy of Halo games consisting of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. The Reclaimer Trilogy launched with Halo 4's release on November 6, 2012, and was continued with the release of Halo 5: Guardians on October 27th, 2015.

Development

Growth of the Saga

The first installment of the then-trilogy, Halo 4, was announced on June 6th, 2011 with a teaser trailer presented at Microsoft's E3 Media Briefing. The subseries was first identified as the Reclaimer Trilogy during Halo Fest at PAX Prime 2011.

The series marks the Halo games' first foray into the post-Human-Covenant War Halo universe. "Reclaimer" is a title given to humans by the Forerunners, which coincides with humanity's status in the time period the Reclaimer Saga is set. Two novel series, The Forerunner Saga and the Kilo-Five Trilogy, written by Greg Bear and Karen Traviss, respectively, were created as tie-in material to more thoroughly establish the story and themes present in the new game series, particularly the extensive Forerunner elements in the case of the former. Both novel series introduce and build on many characters, technologies and locales encountered in the games. This was not a one-way process, as multiple elements were incorporated into the games after their inclusion in the novels. This is part of 343 Industries' efforts to more seamlessly integrate the Halo games with the other media exploring the Halo universe, eliminating the divide between the games and the "expanded universe".

On June 21, 2013, Microsoft announced that the Reclaimer Trilogy would be expanded into the Reclaimer Saga, which will not be limited to a trilogy format.

Starting in the fall of 2014, a multimedia project known as Halo: The Journey was intended to tie together the stories and characters of Halo 5: Guardians and those encountered in previous Halo media. The "Journey" refers to a personal journey undertaken by John-117, who has begun to question his past worldview and left the UNSC. Jameson Locke, who has been dispatched to find the Master Chief, will be a pivotal character in media released during this phase of the story. 343 Industries has stated that they wanted to create a wider cast of recurring characters to appear in future media; 343 Industries General Manager Bonnie Ross stated that "We ... had a tendency to kill all of our characters besides Master Chief. We are not Game of Thrones, and we actually want to make sure going forward we have a larger cast of characters with which to tell stories."

Released on November 11, 2014, Halo: The Master Chief Collection marked the beginning of The Journey. The collection contained ancillary cinematics that "tie you up and leave you on the doorstep of Halo 5," as well as the digital series Halo: Nightfall which introduces Jameson Locke. The comic series Halo: Escalation, particularly the final issues, also served to bridge the gap between Halo 4 and its sequel. Halo: The Television Series was originally slated to have ties to the ongoing story, although this changed from the series' conception, to its eventual release in 2022. Spin-off titles were also envisioned.

Discontinuation of the Saga

Early planning for "Halo 6" began shortly after Halo 5: Guardians came out in 2015, though these plans eventually changed with the saga being discontinued in favor of a "spiritual reboot".

By February 23, 2017, Jeff Easterling introduced the term of "swimlanes" where stories will mostly remain in their own ones instead of branching into the main titles.

By October 9, 2018, Jeff Easterling stated it was likely the safest thing not to be thinking in "____ saga" terms anymore, instead preferring to just use "Halo". In this, Halo Infinite is considered just "the next chapter in the overall story" instead of being part of the Reclaimer Saga.

Games

Halo 4

Main article: Halo 4

"Set in the aftermath of Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Halo 4 marks the start of a new trilogy that begins with its release in 2012."

— Official summary

Halo 4 marks the return of John-117 as a playable protagonist after three Halo games focusing on different sets of characters. Having been lost in space in the finale of Halo 3, John-117 and Cortana are adrift aboard the wreckage of the frigate Forward Unto Dawn. They find themselves being drawn into Requiem, a Forerunner Shield World first seen in the Legendary ending of Halo 3.

They confront a remnant faction of the former Covenant Empire as they are pulled into the planet's abyss. Inside Requiem, John is determined to rescue Cortana as she struggles with her own capability and mortality, finally experiencing the effects of rampancy as she nears the end of an AI's seven-year life span. Together they face a new, seemingly unstoppable foe when they awaken the Ur-Didact, an ancient Forerunner and fallen warrior hero first explored in the Forerunner Saga. After aiding the crew of the UNSC Infinity upon their arrival, the pair depart from Infinity and set off to battle the Didact and his army of Prometheans to prevent him from obtaining the Composer, a powerful Forerunner device capable of wreaking vengeance and annihilation on the human race.

Halo 5: Guardians

Main article: Halo 5: Guardians

"The quest of the hunter and the hunted has begun."

— Official summary

Halo 5: Guardians is the second game in the Reclaimer Saga. It was released October 27, 2015, with a multiplayer beta playable from December 27, 2014 to January 22, 2015. Halo 5: Guardians continues the story of Master Chief, and introduces Spartan Jameson Locke. After several human colony worlds are attacked, and John-117 goes AWOL along with Blue Team, Spartan Locke and Fireteam Osiris are tasked with finding the Master Chief and solving a mystery that threatens the entire galaxy.

Halo 6 and discontinuation

The story for "Halo 6" began its planning stage in 2015 with 343 Industries having a clear idea where the story was going to go. Ideas were proposed such as making it a "Halo 5.5" or "Halo 6: ODST" type game according to Bonnie Ross. These plans were scrapped as Ross described them to be "half-baked", and instead opted for creating a "spiritual reboot" of the franchise. The spiritual reboot project would eventually become Halo Infinite, while also tying up major story beats from the discontinued Reclaimer Saga.

Trivia

• 343 Industries created a joke script for Halo 6 in 2016, titled Halo 6: Yabda Cuts Loose. It was featured in their mannequin challenge video.