Recently the developers of the Halo fan game Spartan Survivors received word from Halo Studios that they not only have their blessing to continue development, but also stated they loved what they have played, and look forward to getting further into their playthrough.
This news was shared by the developers via their BlueSky account, where they also shared the following image:
"Really love to see the passion you and your team have poured into this experience - it really is fun and we look forward to getting further in our play through and unlocking more stuff," reads the quote.
While the game is set for release on Xbox and Steam at a later date, it can currently be downloaded through itch.io. As the name suggests, the game is a "survivor" style shoot em up, where players advance through waves and waves of enemies, as they continue to upgrade their spartan and unlock better stuff to make future runs easier.
Due to Microsoft's existing policy, the game was technically already allowed, but their terms do note that Microsoft retains the rights to use anything developed royalty free. In other words, if Microsoft wants to use a character or story aspect within Spartan Survivors as a part of the official Halo canon, they are free to do so without the developer's consent (and without pay).
As stated in their terms:
Distribution of your Item in any form constitutes a grant by you of a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide, license to Microsoft and any of Microsoft's partners or users to use, modify and distribute that Item (and derivatives of that Item), and use your name if we choose to, for any purpose and without obligation to pay you anything, obtain your approval, or give you credit. And this license to Microsoft survives any termination or expiration of these Rules. This means that if you add to the game universe or expand on the story told in the game with "lost chapters" or back story or anything like that, distribution of your story or idea may appear in a future game without any compensation to you. (Sorry, but our lawyers tell us we need to do this in order to avoid frivolous lawsuits getting in the way of making more great games.) It also means we can put your Item on a Microsoft site or property if we want to.
In short, Spartan Survivors can become an official part of the Halo universe if Microsoft decides to make it so... But in the mean time they are simply giving their blessing.
Great news for the developers who have been hard at work on this project, and the countless fans already enjoying playing it.
For more, here is the official trailer, or you can head over to the itch.io page to try it out for yourself.
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