Ensemble Studios' canceled Halo MMO was going after WoW's audience, and may have succeeded had it come out.
Speaking to IncGamers, former Ensemble developer Dusty Monk described the game as being a big-budget, very serious project that might have enjoyed success had its plug not been pulled.
According to Monk, the game -- which was allegedly budgeted at $90 million -- was good enough to have competed in the crowded MMO market.
"Even though a lot of people talk about how you just can't build a WoW killer, I absolutely believe that we could have built an MMO, if Microsoft had maintained their commitment, that if it hadn't been a WoW killer it certainly would've competed," said Monk.
According to Monk, the MMO was canceled because of a "changing of the guard" at Microsoft, who decided that the success of the Nintendo Wii was cause for Microsoft to focus less on the hardcore -- such as MMO players -- and more on the broader casual audience.
Originally published on 1UP.com.
