TheHalosoundtrack is one of the most recognizable in all of video games, especially its iconic main theme. Beginning with an operatic choir-like chant, theHalotheme has featured in every numbered mainlineHalogame and has been remixed and covered by everything from marching bands to echoing stairwells.
The firstHalogame,Halo: Combat Evolved, was developed by Bungie and released as a launch title for the original Xbox in 2001. Its popularity cemented the title not only as an iconic game, evident by all thegames that tried to capitalize onHalo’s popularity, but as Xbox’s flagship series.Haloas a franchise is so synonymous with Xbox that Microsoft even named its virtual assistant Cortana in a nod to the AI companion from the games.
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Equally synonymous withHalois its soundtrack, which the original composers of are now suing Microsoft over, claiming they are owed for royalty payments dating back the game’s full 20 years. Composers Marty O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori filed the lawsuit in June 2020 with no agreements yet to be made. If there are no agreements made in the next week there is chance this case could go to court.
The soundtrack might now be forever linked withHalo’s release on the original Xbox, but this was not the first time the iconic music was heard. OriginallyHalowas a game being developed by Bungie for the Apple Mac computer and was first revealed in a very early state at the 1999 MacWorld event. A concept trailer was played at the show and heard playing in the background is the iconicHalotheme. Bungie,which was recently acquired by Sony, was first bought in 2000 by Microsoft, the Apple project was scrapped, andHalowas reworked into the Xbox franchise it is today.
O’Donnell and Salavtori claim that the work done for Bungie in 1999 was a licensed agreement so that the composers would have the right to claim the royalties on their music if it was used in future projects. Microsoft disputes this claim, saying the music qualified as work-for-hire, and since Microsoft had purchased Bungie, it bought with it the authorship of the soundtrack.
TheHalosoundtrack has been used in many projects over the past 20 years, not only inHalovideo games, but promotional material and spinoffs. The trailer forthe upcomingHaloTV show on Paramount+even uses a sting from the game’s soundtrack, hinting that some iconic tracks it might appear fully in certain episodes. It is unlikely then, that Microsoft will want to entertain the idea of back paying all the royalties for these uses and any continued use of the music it has used so freely up until now. But after almost a year of litigation with no agreements reached it could be planning to fight the lawsuit rather than buying the license, perceived or otherwise, outright.
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