In the last month or so, we've had announcements for a new comic book series, Spartan Assault, and Halo 5. Levi is just one of many who feel like this is too much, too soon.
There have also been complaints about the lack of polish in Halo 4, the lack of consistency between media, "forcing" characters and storylines onto the fans, and increasingly opaque communication.

I've already posted the Halo = Star Wars quotes from 2007 before (twice, actually). But Halo hasn't lived up to that billing yet. Star Wars has over 1000 items of media, several new items (and usually at least one game) a year, a ridiculously large extended universe, and a true mainstream following. All of which really took off over a decade after the first film with the Thrawn trilogy.

I think Halo reached its own Thrawn point this month; under Microsoft's watch, Halo will soon not be a franchise, but a universe and a brand.

If true, none of the above criticisms will go away, just like they're all there for Star Wars. But that also means that Halo is not going to be run into the ground because of one or two bad games. And we'll be able to expect a constant expansion of the Halo universe, a variety of platforms and media to choose from (so we won't be chained to the XBoxOne), and no longer be taken for gamers just because we like Halo.

This will require us Halo fans to learn a couple of lessons from Star Wars fandom. We will need to lower our expectations of quality in favor of savoring past works and the character of the universe as a whole. We will need to stop worrying about whether we like every piece of the universe, and enjoy the pieces we like (think Phantom Menace vs. KOTOR).

Yes, this new order will favor dilettante consumers of Halo (like myself these days, actually) over the old-school fans. But there will be plenty for old-school fans to enjoy too, as long as they think about it the right way. The days of exquisite craftsmanship in Halo are probably over, but I still expect Halo 5 to be darn good fun.

If you've got a bad feeling about this, I definitely don't find your lack of faith disturbing. But personally, I'm actually more excited about Halo than I've been in a long time.