Halo: 10 Biggest Lore Differences Between The Games & The TV Show

Halo began streaming on Paramount+ in 2022, with a second season dropping in early 2024. The reviews of the video game adaptation weren’t the strongest, but the series features great action and plenty of Easter eggs for fans. However, as with any adaptation, things change for TV and movies. This is no different for Halo. The Paramount+ sci-fi show has an even brighter spotlight thanks to its popularity, as, since Halo: Combat Evolved launched in 2001, the franchise has become the most popular and successful of all time.

Paramount adapted the Halo franchise and lore into a TV series, with the series taking place in the “Silver” timeline. Throughout the first two seasons, the themes and most of the characters have been directly inspired by the games, but there are several changes to the overall story and lore of the Halo universe. These areas deviate from what fans of the games wanted, and Halo‘s second season features even more massive changes from the game’s lore and storyline, frustrating many franchise fans.

10
Master Chief Takes His Helmet Off

The TV Show Gives The Faceless Protagonist A Fact

One of the most iconic aspects of the Halo games was the fact that Master Chief always had his helmet on. It has become one of the running jokes of the video game series, as well. But one of the major differences in the Halo television series is that Master Chief is regularly seen without his helmet on. Master Chief wearing his MJOLNIR armor, along with the Mark VI helmet, had quite a lot of lore behind it, as the character was trained as a child to become a super soldier and to win battles, no matter the cost.

The Halo showrunners chose to ditch the helmet to humanize the character, but doing so takes away from one of the most iconic aspects of the lore. It seems that, more often than not, John takes off his helmet on the show, and this takes away from his mystique and makes him less of a threat. The series does this to show a focus on who John is as a person, and how he copes with his stolen childhood, but this is not what fans of the game are used to or want from the character.

9
There Are Humans Working With The Covenant In The Halo Show

The Covenant Were All Aliens In The Halo Games

The humans’ relationship with the Covenant in the games is quite different from what is depicted in the Halo TV show. In the games, The Covenant abducts humans whenever they want to activate a Halo ring. This is because humans are “reclaimers,” and they are essential to make the forerunner machinery function. In the TV show, The Prophets, being aware of the importance of humans, keep and protect Makee, who is a displaced human. She is even referred to as “The Blessed One.”

This is an interesting change, considering that, at this point of the storyline, The Covenant is supposed to be quite anti-human. It seems very strange for fans of the video game’s lore to see a human willingly help the Covenant — even though they are anti-human and have no problem hurting and torturing humans to get what they need. However, the Covenant in the “Silver Timeline” is not after the genocide of humans, and it is actually within the lore, as they need Blessed Ones to help use the tech.

8
Silver Team

Different Teammates

The Halo TV show differs from the games and the books over who Master Chief’s teammates are and what they are called. In the games, his team was known as the Blue Team, which comprised Federick 104, Keely 087, and Linda 058. His team on the show is now called The Silver Team and the characters have been replaced with Kai 125, Vannak 134, and Riz 028. These characters have also been more humanized.

One of the Silver Team members, Kai, also takes off her emotion inhibitor and goes on a path of discovery. In the Halo games, Master Chief had been with this Blue team since training and the fall of the reach. Each of the three team members has a unique story arc on the show, and they are all different from the Blue Team members in the game, meaning everything about this part of the Halo show vs game has changed. There is some hope that they become more than the generic, replaceable Blue Team.

7
New Spying Technology

The Halo Show Gives Master Chief Some Intriguing New Tech

The Halo series is famous for the fantastical technology that is often used during battles. Slipspace technology for ships, Mjolnir armor, which also happens to be one of the coolest armors in the Halo franchise, Cortana, plasma weapons, and even Spartan soldiers, are the few that are often seen. Many of these technological advancements and weapons are seen in the Halo TV show, but the show introduces something new that does not exist in the Halo video games.

In the show, there is an introduction of a major new technology. The characters in the Halo TV show can form apparitions that can be used to spy on people in other rooms. They have to sit on a chair and place what looks like three metallic balls on their heads. This then lets them see into another room and see and hear what others are saying and doing, all without those they’re observing being aware of their presence.

6
The Halo TV Show Introduces Humans With A Connection To Halo

A Major Change In The Lore

Halo was one of the most anticipated video game adaptations, but it ended up making some major changes to the lore of the video game franchise that bothered fans. One of the major lore differences between the show and the games is that only Master Chief and Makee were shown to have a connection with Halo in the first season, and only they can interact with the artifacts that lead to the Halo rings. It is unclear what their relationship with Halo is and why it affects them.

On the other hand, Humans, due to them being Reclaimers, had a special connection to Halo’s controls. The reason for this exclusivity has not been explained in the show at this point, particularly why only Makee and Master Chief possess them. However, it does turn out in season 2 that there might be more, as it seems Kwan Ha also can activate some artifacts, and she helped Halsey and Miranda open a Forerunner door. Kwan Ha also has visions, but it still hasn’t been explained.

5
Halsey Being On The Run

But She Will Not Be Accused Of Her Crimes

Dr. Halsey is the genius mind behind the creation of Spartan soldiers, the AI Cortana, and even the Mjolnir armor. However, in doing so, she has also been complicit in several crimes, including abducting children, training and conducting experiments on them, and creating their clones. She is used as a scapegoat by other officials, and this means she has to go on the run by the end of season 1. This is not supposed to happen so soon in the canon’s lore.

While her actions are pretty much the same in both the Halo games and the show, when The Covenant attacks the games, she is not accused of her crimes by the UNSC because they know how important her skills are. In the TV show, this doesn’t seem to matter, and the government seems more willing to cover their roles in these actions than to keep an important and vital person onboard to help them win a war that is still very much underway when they force her into hiding.

4
The Covenant Have Their Own Language

One Of The Positive Changes In The Halo TV Show

This is one of the changes in the Halo TV show that makes sense when compared to the games. The Covenant got a great deal of depth with the launch of Halo 2 when players could see them bickering with each other, the Prophets making political moves, and the Elites taking pride in their honor. Whenever these scenes were shown in the games, The Covenant used to talk in English, which helped players know what they were saying and moves the story forward.

On the other hand, in the Halo show, the Covenant have their own language — and this makes much more sense. Watching the Covenant talk is one of the coolest moments in Halo. It is also easier for a TV show to include the alien language, as people are usually following the series for its story and paying closer attention, where in the games, it is all about watching a cut scene and getting right back into the gameplay action. The TV show adding the language makes more sense logically.

3
The Introduction Of The Spartan Rebellion

How To Make a Character More Human?

In the game, Master Chief had only one goal — to successfully finish his mission and to get the job done, no matter the cost. In the TV show, he, along with Kai, figures out what was done to them as children by Dr. Catherine Halsey. He also finds out that he was taken or stolen from his parents. This is when the training begins to turn him into a super soldier, and once he learns what happened, he reacts negatively, just as Kai does when she learns the same things about herself.

This is one of the changes made by the showrunners of Halo on Paramount+ to make him more human and relatable. These events never occurred in the game, as the Spartans have always stuck to their duty and done any task provided for them. The Halo games are all about gamers sending Master Chief into action and killing the bad guys. In the Halo show, there is more story time given to motivations and characterization, and this rebellion and refusal to carry out orders continues in season 2.

2
A Morally Gray UNSC

Not Everything Is Black And White

The United Nations Space Command is pretty one-dimensional in the games, it is seen as a “good” force trying to protect humanity from The Covenant. On the other hand, in the Halo show, the UNSC is shown as a morally gray organization, willing to let its soldiers and even people die to further its agenda. One of the first fights in the show between humanity and The Covenant was a group of people trying to gain independence from the UNSC.

They believe that the UNSC is using the threat of The Covenant as propaganda to further strengthen their position in the galaxy. However, while this is a controversial change in the Halo TV show, it is also essential. The UNSC is just the video game base for Master Chief to receive his orders, and it is only about fighting bad guys. The Halo series knows that it has to play with deeper meanings, and there is no way to show a large government organization without making it real and not just a force of good.

1
No Choice For Cortana

Master Chief’s Most Loyal Companion Has A Different Origin

The creation of Cortana and the reason why it is with Master Chief is completely different in the Halo games and the show. In the game, Cortana was created by Dr. Halsey through multiple clones she put in cryogenic units and was created to assist her in her research. It was then decided that Cortana would be a perfect companion to Spartan, and it chose Master Chief, citing luck as the factor. This was all changed in the Halo show vs game differences.

In the show, Cortana was created using only one flash clone and the purpose of its creation was to help the Spartans. Dr. Halsey assigns Cortana to Master Chief. There was no “choice” for Cortana. Another difference is that in the game, Cortana was installed in Master Chief’s suit using a chip, while in the show, it is installed directly into his brain. Halsey created Cortana so she could control Master Chief, but as expected, things don’t always have a way of working out as planned.