Havde beslutningen ligget hos Bungie, havde det første spil i Halo-serien blot heddet Halo, og altså ikke fået nogen undertitel. Dette fortæller Halo-designeren Jaime Griesemer fortælle til britiske CVG.
Microsoft syntes dog at Halo navnet i sig selv var for kedeligt, og at det slet ikke lugtede af krudt og kugler.
Griesemer siger:
"The compromise was they could add a subtitle. Everyone at Bungie hated it. But it turned out to be a very sticky label and has now entered the gaming lexicon to the point where articles that have nothing to do with Halo get titles like 'Skateboarding Evolved'. So I guess in hindsight it was a good compromise."