MIPCOM Hot Pick: Halo: The Fall of Reach

Halo: The Fall of Reach is the third of the Halo spin-offs, after Forward Unto Dawn and Nightfall, that Content Television & Digital has taken to market, as each installment of the video game franchise spawns associated video content.

These are packaged in deluxe editions of the game, with Content handling the sales effort to broadcasters and SVOD and digital platforms, effectively creating a revenue stream out of Halo marketing spend.

“The previous ones have set a template,” says Content’s executive VP, sales and distribution, Jonathan Ford, of how The Fall of Reach will be launched with the collectors’ edition of Halo 5: Guardians in October.

A major change between new video companion piece and its predecessors is that it is animated, not live action. “It is based on one of the novels and the animation is very relevant to the feel of the game; we think Halo fans will buy it,” says Ford.

The story does not track the one played out in the new game, but is an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Eric Nylund, the first in a series and a prequel to the first game in the Halo franchise. It has also been made into a comic series.

Electronic-sell-through and download-to-own sales will start the push to buyers outside of those getting it with the game and Content will then take it to TV and SVOD buyers. The previous live-action show sold well, to buyers including RTL2 and Syfy in Germany and Netflix in France and Scandinavia.

The show: Halo: The Fall of Reach
The producer: Sequence
The distributor: Content Television & Digital
The broadcaster: TBC
The concept: Latest installment in the Halo shoot-‘em-up computer game spin-offs, this time in animated form