A Warhammer rival has just announced its new tabletop game based on the Halo universe, and it's hitting shelves this year.
Designed by Mantic (the developer behind a Hellboy board game and Kings of War, a mass-battle system in the style of old-school Warhammer), this new miniatures wargame revolves around Spartan vs. Spartan multiplayer battles. It's being created in partnership with 343 Industries, the team behind modern Halo video games on Xbox and PC.
Unlike so many of the best board games these days, Mantic's Halo wargame will not get a crowdfunding campaign and will instead head straight to retail as of September 2024. It's unclear exactly how the system will work and whether it's going to be a more rigid system like the Apex Legends board game (that would certainly be my guess, largely due to its focus on Spartans), but we do know that it's opting for the unusual 40mm scale. For context, most wargames usually swing between 28mm and 32mm.
Via Mantic's announcement post, CEO and founder Ronnie Renton says that "having a firefight play out on the table while moving Spartans in and out of cover connects players to the action in a new and special way. We have a thrilling and competitive game, from a passionate team of talented sculptors, artists, and designers who have been building an incredible Halo experience."
Meanwhile, heead of Halo and Xbox consumer products John Friend states that “Mantic is a leader in tabletop gaming, and their quality and experience show through in all their work. I’m most excited in this case about their passion for the Halo franchise and for bringing Halo gameplay to tabletop gaming in an incredibly authentic way.”
Anyone keeping score will know that this isn't the first Halo wargame, of course. A few years back saw the release of Fleet Battles (which, as the name would suggest, emphasized starship combat a la X-Wing) and Ground Command, a game rendered at a much smaller 15mm scale reminiscent of Legions Imperialis.
We'll be able to see how this Halo wargame compares when we get our first look in March.
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