Microsoft is currently working on new Halo games, and actor Keith David is optimistic that he might be called upon to reprise his role as the Arbiter. In a series of social media posts, David expressed his awareness that "there may be something new" in development, but clarified that he has no official information. "I don't know any more than all of you. I hear there may be something new and, if so, I'd love to reprise my role as the Arbiter. That's it. Nothing coded," he stated.
David originally voiced the Arbiter in 2004's Halo 2, and continued in the role for 2007's Halo 3 and 2015's Halo 5: Guardians. His voice acting career extends beyond Halo, notably as David Anderson in the Mass Effect series and as the self-referential Vice President Keith David in Saints Row IV. This year, he stepped in to replace the late Lance Reddick as the voice of Commander Zavala in Destiny 2.
On social media, David acknowledged that some might doubt his claims, but he reiterated that he is not privy to any future Halo plans and has not signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). He is simply waiting to hear from Microsoft and expressed a desire for one of the new Halo games to be an Arbiter spin-off.
Outside of the Halo universe and video games, David is also known for voicing the Disney villain Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog, and for his numerous film and TV appearances in projects such as Armageddon, The Thing, They Live, and Platoon.
In related Halo news, it was recently revealed that Microsoft considered replacing Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes and Cortana actress Jen Taylor for Halo 4. However, Downes mentioned that Microsoft ultimately decided to rehire him and Taylor after test audiences reacted negatively to the replacement actors.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that 343 Industries had rebranded to Halo Studios, with multiple new Halo games in development using Unreal Engine 5. No specific games have been announced yet, though Microsoft has released a demo called Project Foundry to showcase the potential of Halo on Epic's Unreal Engine.
The most recent Halo game, 2021's Halo: Infinite, initially enjoyed record-breaking success due to Game Pass but has since seen a decline in interest. Microsoft's new Halo leadership is aiming to move away from the development approach used for Halo Infinite, describing it as the "last remnant" of the old way of making Halo games. "That was our recipe. And what we're doing right now is changing our recipe," the studio stated about its upcoming projects.
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