Respawn working on "Halo-killer"?

By Ellie Gibson Published 12 July, 2010

Space shooter coming, predicts Pachter.

Leading industry clairvoyant Michael Pachter has revealed what he reckons Respawn is working on right now.

"The one genre that hasn't been cloned a lot is space shooter, so I'll make a prediction here," he told Game Trailers.

"Respawn Entertainment, the ex-Infinity Ward guys - that's their next game."

According to the Pach man, Respawn's sci-fi effort will be up there with the best of the best. "They're going to make a Halo-killer, a game that's going to compete in the space shooter genre," he said.

So much for our theory that Respawn is working on a farming sim with cooking and fashion design themes plus a dancing mini-game. Wishful thinking.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (54) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Quint2020 #1 2 years ago

    Errrr..... ok?

  • MrE26 #2 2 years ago

    Who the fuck is this guy?!

  • Haloboy #3 2 years ago

    This guy practically lives his life as one large guessing game. Shut up Pachter you dick.

  • Uncle_Fishboy #4 2 years ago

    They'd need to start including driveable vehicles then or it'll be COD in Space. Maybe we will be able to shoot a hangar full of innocent tribbles

  • Bitkari #5 2 years ago

    "The one genre that hasn't been cloned a lot is space shooter

    Marathon
    Doom (1, 2, 3)
    Halo (1, 2, 3, ODST)
    Unreal (x1000)
    Gears, Resistance, AvP, Battlefront, Bulletstorm...


  • Negotiator #6 2 years ago

    Oh, another "Halo killer" just like all the other ones that have failed.

  • altitude2k #7 2 years ago

    Gears is a space shooter, how exactly?

    It's set on another planet, sure, but it assumes no existence of Earth or anything beyond Sera.

  • Syrette #8 2 years ago

    Oh, it's that guy.

    And yes, excellent guess. No idea how his brilliant mind came upon the possibility of Respawn's first game being an FPS.

    I can see it now - an FPS with lots of set-pieces, a silly story, and a big multiplayer element. I can also foresee plenty of respawning going on.

  • tomjoadsghost #9 2 years ago

    Its all true, its called spuriousity, and it features a character who literally pulls crap out of the air and flings as much of it around as humanly possible in the desperate hope that some of it will stick.

    When one of his "attacks" hits home it give him a messed up hypno attack which makes websites print his babbling on slow news days.

    I suspect that guy from shopto has similar powers.

  • Uncle_Fishboy #10 2 years ago

    @ altitude2k

    It's not set on earth so therefore must be in "space" johnny donkeyballs

  • Vin #11 2 years ago

    Use of that phrase should be punishable by a kick in balls.

  • jack_klugman #12 2 years ago

    What about a shooter set in the burgeoning American pornographic video industry of the mid-1980s? There's an untapped niche.

  • aldo_14 #13 2 years ago

    Bah. I'm sure 'space shooter' used to cover stuff like Wing Commander and Freespace... those were the days.

  • RodHull #14 2 years ago

    Oh dear, why do they always set themselves up for a fall? Killzone was doomed from the start when Guerilla said it would best Halo. Why don't developers aim lower and claim their game will be a Shellshock killer or the like?

  • TeaFiend #15 2 years ago

    What a job, being a monkey with a crystal ball.

  • Freek #16 2 years ago

    When they were still at Infinity Ward the rumor was that they were going to do a sci fi shooter next. Old rumor.
    Edited by 1 at 12/07/10 @ 10:33

  • altitude2k #17 2 years ago

    Sera is a fictional planet replacing Earth as the only planet with humans on. They didn't migrate there, they evolved there, i.e. there is no Earth in the Gears universe.

    It's set in the present year with no exploration into space. Ipso facto, not a space shooter.

    It's set there to give the writers utter freedom over geography, culture etc.

  • Bradach #18 2 years ago

    @ Freek

    Yeah, that's what i was going to say. i'm pretty sure they basically said that's what they wanted to do next. not much of a prediction then from Patcher.

  • jack_klugman #19 2 years ago

    Re: Halo Vs. Gears, legitimacy to be called "space shooter" debate, doesn't it boil down to whether or not you're featuring tropes like rayguns, aliens, spaceships, teleporters and force fields? That said, I'd class Killzone as a "space shooter", so maybe it's just the "spaceships" which matter.

  • The-Bodybuilder #20 2 years ago

    @ Bitkari

    Don't for get killzone and....
    Haze? O_o

  • UKLL #21 2 years ago


    There's no denying they have talent but do they have the financial backing to make a Halo killer?

    Money talks and most the AAA titles released these days have budgets equal to that of the gdp of a third world country.

  • The-Bodybuilder #22 2 years ago

    Oh dear, why do they always set themselves up for a fall? Killzone was doomed from the start when Guerilla said it would best Halo. Why don't developers aim lower and claim their game will be a Shellshock killer or the like?

    Heh, somehow I can't imagine Guerilla Games claiming Killzone as a "shellshock" killer. Wouldn't say much about them, considering they made both.

  • Baronen #23 2 years ago

    Oh shit, a Halo killer, now there's a blast from the past.

  • cw- #24 2 years ago

    Halo isn't a "space shooter" .. it's Sci-fi !

    Same for Gears, and all the others mentioned.

    @aldo_14
    Bah. I'm sure 'space shooter' used to cover stuff like Wing Commander and Freespace... those were the days.
    Coooooorrect!
    I fancy another X-Wing/Tie Fighter game!

  • Haloboy #25 2 years ago

    Unreal II. Let us not forget that was a Halo killer once too.

  • Dizzy #26 2 years ago

    Another Halo killer?

  • JahB #27 2 years ago

    Great, cause another SciFi shooter is just what we needed. What's wrong with realistic FPS games?

  • CaptainQuint #28 2 years ago

    So, Call of Duty in space then.

  • Uncle_Fishboy #29 2 years ago

    I seem to have become embroiled in an argument about whether it's a space shooter or not, all because I wanted to include the words 'johnny donkeyballs' in my post

    I agree that if you want to be pedantic then the 'freespace/Homewold/wing commader/xwing games are proper old school space shooters. Halo and gears are sci-fi FPS's/3rd person

    Still, that said I think you've maybe been spending a little too long in thinking about Gears Altitude2k. It's pretty spacey if you ask me, what with laser guns, and flying stuff and giant alien crabs monsters etc. So I reserve the right to call you Johnny Donkeyballs once again.
    Edited by 1 at 12/07/10 @ 11:23

  • Syrette #30 2 years ago

    Call of Duty: Future Warfare

  • anomagnus #31 2 years ago

    To be fair, its almost a year since i heard halo killer, so it is due a go around again.

    No one ever mentions Haze killers though.

  • retr0gamer #32 2 years ago

    Why aspire to making a Halo killer when you could be aspiring to making your game better than the dozens of shooters that are already better than the Halo games. If you they said it would be better than System Shock 2 I might listen.

  • Redeye #33 2 years ago

    You know what the real killer here would be? If absolutely everyone had the wrong end of the stick, and Respawn are in fact doing the next iteration of X-Wing vs TIE Fighter...

    *carries on daydreaming*

  • mcmonkeyplc #34 2 years ago

    Oh goody another Halo killer, all the others have done so well....

  • Capa26 #35 2 years ago

    If that's what you think Mr. Pachter go down the bookies... in the meantime can you please shut your face until you actually have any *news* to spread.

  • Andeus #36 2 years ago

    The problem is that this isn't even news.

    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/being- michael-pachter-interview?page=2
    ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/articles/being-...[/link]

    Eurogamer's own Pachter interview dated 12 May, 2010. Page 2, 2nd and 3rd paragraph.

    I mean, really? Seriously?

    Edited by 1 at 12/07/10 @ 12:07

  • bdc #37 2 years ago

    Why make an article like this? 'industry analyst makes a far fetched guess'

  • I\'mListening #38 2 years ago

    No new IP is ever going to 'kill' an established, multi-million selling, incredibly successful franchise which has both history on its side and a devoutly zealous following. It might take market share, but that is hardly killing another game , is it? Even if there wasn't another sequel to Halo it wouldn't be wiped from memory nor it's would what it achieved as the first truly successful console shooter be any less meaningful. The same as MOH won't be a COD killer, or Saints row (or indeed Assassins Creed) not being a GTA killer. You get my point...

  • darkmorgado #39 2 years ago

    Erm what? Space shooters aren't a widely covered genre?

    Has this guy ever even heard the phrase "space marine"?

    Warhammer 40k, Halo, Killzone, Red Faction, Gears of War... all of these are sci-fi shooters set on other planets or in the far future.

  • BigE0n #40 2 years ago

    Why cant we have a game Based on Dirty Harry now that would be awesome you know with some serious story and the like.

    I guess ill just have to hold out hope for a Lego Dirty Harry game instead

  • Beano #41 2 years ago

    Why are people still takling about a Halo-killer like it's the best FPS series ?

    I love the Halo games but it's far from genre defining anymore (online or offline).

  • lockload #42 2 years ago

    Patcher also said..

    PS3 would be no1 total worldwide sales overtaking wii and 360 by 2009.....errr NOPE
    WiiHD would be launched by end of 2009.... errr NOPE
    Red dead redemption would flop and sell less than 1m... err NOPE

    Fool

  • Half-assed #43 2 years ago

    @lockload

    Doesn't that mean he can't do his job and should get fired?

  • dirtysteve #44 2 years ago

    Whatever happened to proper lasers? even War for Cybertron is full of standard gritty guns. I miss the pew-pew and bzzzzz of a good laser battle.

  • MerricK #45 2 years ago

    who gave Ellie a job? Why does everything she mentions have to be farmville related? I think i'd rather have a jevoah witness live in my spare room than read another one of her articles in which she can make the relation to farmville ... god piss off!

  • ongjg #46 2 years ago

    Instead of trying to 1-up Halo, why don't they try to make a more original and unique game?

    Given that it's an FPS, it's gonna need something to help it stand out from the crowd.

  • NewbieZilla #47 2 years ago

    So PACHTER says they'll work on a halo killer, so you roll with it? Jesus.

  • Shrike #48 2 years ago

    How do you kill a franchise that is wrapping up in two months?

  • cw- #49 2 years ago

    MS are recruiting people for more Halo, so it's not wrapping up in 2 months at all :p
    http://ww w.microsoft-careers.com/go/Micr...

  • SilentNinja92 #50 2 years ago

    @Bitkari

    How can a game be called a space shooter if its not set in space? The whole of gears of war is set on one planet. To call that a space shooter becuase its on a planet in space means that every game set on Earth is also a space game. so what is COD a space shooter then? I mean it is set in the universe =P

    Halo is a space shooter becuase you do actually fly around space a bit, go to different planets and stuff. In gears if war you never go out of the atmosphere and into space, ever, so its not a space shooter. Just a shooter based on a fictional planet.

  • davisorle #51 2 years ago

    I honestly dont know why all of a sudden this Patcher is as if the ancient Greek Delfi predicting the future of gaming. I can find as valid prediction from everyone with a logical explanation in his opinion. Patcher is a huge clown and I hate that he is praised when he is the kind of guy that actually says during videos and interviews aout his huge house, his porche that he is driving and why he has so much money that he does...

    I guess I'll start liking Paris Hilton too.

    P.S. Since when is Halo the only space shooter? o.O Plus he is talking as if there has been a WoW killer so far that easily.

  • Collymilad #52 2 years ago

    "Halo is a space shooter becuase you do actually fly around space a bit, go to different planets and stuff. In gears if war you never go out of the atmosphere and into space, ever, so its not a space shooter. Just a shooter based on a fictional planet."

    Maybe gears isn't a space shooter, but then Halo hardly is either if you're talking about actual gameplay.

    The point is space shooter basically means "sci-fi shooter with some space stuff in it" e.g. Ships ,which HAS been done to death as much as anything else.

  • darkmorgado #53 2 years ago

    @Collymilad

    Exactly. Frankly I categorise a "space shooter" as any first or third-person shooter with predmoninant sci-fi leanings.

    If we are talkng about actual combat in space then we are pretty much in a totally separate genre from the one Pachter is discussing here - we would be talking about the X series, Tie Fighter, Freelancer, Elite, etc etc. And it is clear that is not what he means.

    I don't think I was the only person that read the article and instantly thought "Space Marines are an untapped idea? Seriously?"

  • actionfitz #54 2 years ago

    ""The one genre that hasn't been cloned a lot is space shooter"

    say what?
    lol