Halogen: The Halo RTS that could have been

Slip Stream Productions has been working on a mod that would make a Halo RTS. But just a few days ago, Microsoft asked them to shut it down. In the forums on their website, they posted this letter:

Dear Friends,

For the last three years, we've worked incessantly to bring you the best Halo mod that we could. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but somehow Halogen has always managed to come out kicking. The problem with using copyrighted intellectual property as a base for a fan project is that you're very susceptible to legal action. We always figured that since Halogen was such a different take on the Halo franchise, we might manage to make it without incident. That changed today.

Hours ago, we finally recieved the words we've been dreading since the mod started to get noticed. Microsoft has decided that we are infringing on the intellectual property of Bungie Studios and has asked us to stop development on Halogen.

I was going to write a big sappy letter here, but what's the point. So..that's it then, I guess. The forums, site, and Moddb profile will all be shut down within the week. I can't say it hasn't been fun. It's a shame it has to end like this, but I suppose that's how it goes. Thanks, guys, for all the time you've spent supporting us. It's been a pleasure. We hate this as much as you do.

- The Halogen Team

The Halogen site has been closed, and the mod is officially over. It really is too bad, as it looked like it would have been awesome if it had ever been released. Why did Microsoft wait three years, after so much hard work had been put into it, to tell them to stop? Luke Smith at 1UP speculates that maybe Microsoft is planning on making their own Halo RTS. But no matter what Microsoft's plans are, something that could have turned out to be one of the coolest mods ever will now never be finished.

I've put together a collections of videos showing Halogen. Here they are:


[Via Kotaku, Joystiq]