: I suppose it just isn't especially unique any more.
: Gears of War, Mass Effect... for their own flaws as a series, they arguably
: managed to create a much more detailed and consistent universe than Halo
: has ever come close to.

: Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the Halo games a great deal. But that's
: just it. Playing the games.
: For all it's expansion into other media, today, Halo is less of a universe
: and more of a game to me.
: We've been bombarded with just too much Halo in too short of a time (there's
: been a bloody annual game release since 2009).
: It's the Call of Duty effect kicking in.

For me, I think it's just that they're either choosing the wrong stories to tell, or simply not telling them as well as they could/should be told.

Quantity of Halo isn't an issue to me :) The universe itself is still thriving from my perspective, but I think their focus is too thin with the amount of story they're pushing out... widen the spectrum a bit, appeal to various story genres, and hire some very very skilled writers (appropriate to the story genre).

For me, it gets stale when every story is military this and that. Or when more stuff that answers questions is put out to quick - let mysteries stew; let us ponder, theorize, speculate. Move on and come back to things after a few other stories have flavoured the pot. Include once-off stories as well as episodic arcs and series. Give us more HGN and Evolutions (but remaining curated and consistent with the official universe if the stories are commissioned out).

It just grows stale if people get tired or bored of something, or quality stories aren't left to savour and sink in naturally.