343 Industries' Frank O'Connor on Halo's 10th anniversary, Grunt plushies

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Speaking to Gamasutra, 343 Industries' Frank O'Connor explained just what the studio has in store for Halo now that previous developer Bungie has moved on to other things. While O'Connor noted that 343's main priority is "making sure that Reach is well-tended, and cultivated, and taken care of," there are certainly other projects in the pipeline.

Specifically, O'Connor mentioned the upcoming 10th anniversary of the release of the first Halo. O'Connor referred to the celebration as 343's "main high-level task" for the year adding that the studio will be "doing a lot of things to celebrate that, and there's going to be a lot of cool surprises in this year." Honestly, we'll try to act surprised.

The rest of the interview focuses on how 343 has chosen to expand the Halo universe, branching out into different areas like books and toys. O'Connor stated that everything Halo branded has satisfied a community demand. In other words, fans wanted books or action figures, and 343 capitulated. Perhaps the most surprising demand O'Connor's team is considering: Grunt plushies. While O'Connor admitted that such a product would undoubtedly sell, he defended it by saying, "it's the single most-demanded item that we haven't fulfilled in the franchise history."

Head over to Gamasutra for the full interview.