Remember…? How Halo revolutionized first-person shooters 20 years ago.

The gaming world was in the midst of a transformation in November 2001: most games now took place in 3D worlds, and the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube were the leading consoles on the market. Microsoft’s Xbox was released at the same time as Halo. But first Halo, now one of Microsoft’s most important gaming franchises, was an Apple release that Steve Jobs introduced at Macworld Expo 1999.

Then Microsoft bought the brand and turned it into one of the most influential shooters in gaming history, whose world has expanded to include quite a few books, comics, series (the next one is coming in 2022). Halo: Infinite, released in December, is already the sixth main installment in the Halo game series and continues the story of Master Chief, a super soldier trained from infancy whose face gamers were never allowed to see. Once again, critics and fans were thrilled.

The sci-fi shooter brought quite a few innovations to the first-person shooter genre, such as self-regenerating shields, the Melee attack, a designated button for grenades, the strategic limitation of two portable weapons, and a multiplayer part including match-making that is still played today. Add to that an epic story told on quite a few planets with many alien races and accompanied by a soundtrack that still gives you goosebumps. Even if Halo no longer boasts innovations, we are glad that we can continue to save the world as Master Chief in ever new adventures.