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Halo's success was a surprise to everyone involved, says Master Chief voice actor: "There was no game plan to do Halo 2"

Halo voice actor Steve Downies said the first game was only expected to sell 150,000 copies: "They were so unprepared"

News by Joseph Pete, Contributing Writer

Published on Thu Sep 25 2025

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None of the voice actors had any clue when reading lines in the recording studio that Halo would blow up into one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. Nor did anyone else.

"Not only did we not have a club, Bungie didn't have a clue," Master Chief voice actor Steve Downies explained at Fan Expo Chicago. "When they finished [2001 game Halo:] Combat Evolved they thought they could sell 150,000 copies. That would be a tremendous success. Well, they probably sold 150,000 copies in the first hour."

The immediate public interest in a first-person shooter that could be played live online with friends and strangers caught everyone off-guard.

"They were so not prepared for it," he said. "There was no game plan to do Halo 2. In fast one of the head guys had a thing about not doing sequels, so they had no plan to do another game. Microsoft of course had a different idea. Xbox had a different idea. And, of course, the rest is history."

Halo, of course, went on to become the top-selling game exclusive to Xbox of all time, spawning a multimedia franchise with novels, comic books and a Paramount+ show.

"When we were actually doing [the first game], it was fun to do, but there was no thought that this would go on for 25 years. There was no thought of that," Downies said.

Cortana voice actress Jen Taylor wasn't initially aware of what a huge cultural phenomenon Halo became back in the early 2000s: "I remember when they came back and said, 'hey, we're doing Halo 2. We want you to come in and record.' I'm so clueless, you guys," she admitted. "I thought, 'Well, Halo, must have been a success.' I dunno."

343 Guilty Spark actor Tim Dadabo said he started to appreciate how big it came when he went to a GameStop, showed that his ID matched his credit card, and the clerk exclaimed, "You're the monitor!"

Taylor came to realize how huge Halo became globally after being sent around the world to film the Cortana Chronicles series and meeting Halo fans in Sweden.

"Oh, this affected so many people," she said. "I had no clue."

Halo is available on Xbox and other platforms.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer: