It might be hard to imagine in today’s gaming landscape, where franchises like Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, Rainbow Six Siege, and Overwatch 2 dominate consoles, but there was a time when first-person shooters weren’t taken seriously outside of PC.
Before the breakthrough of GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64, Timesplitters and Halo: Combat Evolved, the idea of playing an FPS on console was widely dismissed and often mocked within the gaming community.
According to Seamus Blackley, the creator of the original Xbox, the backlash was even more intense than most would expect. Reflecting on that era, he recalled that the concept was considered so outrageous that he once had drinks thrown at him simply for suggesting that first-person shooters could work on consoles.
Blackley recalled trying to promote Halo: Combat Evolved during that formative period, when PC shooter fans were fiercely protective of the genre. As he put it, it was “a time period where people would f***ing die on this hill, probably literally, that a shooter would never work on a console.”
That’s what made the original Xbox launching with Bungie’s Halo: Combat Evolved as its marquee title so bold, especially with the game releasing alongside the console itself.
“Crazy town,” Blackley added. “Dudes threw beverages at me that exploded on me because they got so frustrated that I was saying that Halo might be a good game on a console.”
PC gamers often argued that you needed a mouse and a desk setup to truly enjoy the precision of a first-person shooter. But Blackley, drawing on his background in physics, never saw that as a real obstacle.
“I understand time and rotation,” he said. “It’s going to be fine.”
As it turned out, he was right. When Halo: Combat Evolved launched alongside the original Xbox, it didn’t just prove that shooters could work on console; it helped redefine the genre for a whole new audience. The game was a massive success, driving Xbox sales and establishing a new standard for console FPS controls. In doing so, it silenced many of the skeptics who once doubted the format could ever work outside of PC. From inventive level layouts to iconic elements like Master Chief, the Covenant, and the Flood, Halo delivered a memorable experience that stood apart from its peers. It also helped shape the future of multiplayer, popularizing LAN parties on console and laying the groundwork for what would become Xbox Live.
Gameplay from Halo: Campaign Evolved/Microsoft
In the end, Halo: Combat Evolved wasn’t just a hit: it was the killer app that gave Microsoft instant credibility in gaming, helping the original Xbox carve out space against established rivals like Sony and Nintendo.
Now, 25 years later, it won’t just be Xbox or PC gamers experiencing the latest Halo release. With Halo: Campaign Evolved set to launch in late July 2026, PlayStation 5 owners will finally get the chance to step into Master Chief’s boots and take on the Covenant themselves.
What do you think about the Xbox creator’s take on Halo: Combat Evolved’s early backlash from PC FPS fans? Would you have backed him when skeptics were so fiercely against the idea, or was the concept of a console shooter still too much of a leap to believe at the time?
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