I doubt that's entirely true. I can't see a Suit standing at the 343 board meeting going "Alright. The fans love the Halo story, so let's retcon and reboot it all to be about the Forerunners and AI instead. And you know how fans love the mystery about the Forerunners? Yeah, we want all of that mystery gone. Make sure you get rid of Cortana, but bring her right back afterwards, those nerds will love that! Oh, and get rid of Invasion while you're at it, those eggheads are still playing too much of it in Reach. And one last thing... Make sure that 90% of the story is told through comics, novels, and anything else that we can sell, or that doesn't cost a whole lot... Like an audio drama, or something."

: MS was happy to manage Bungie from a distance (for the most part) so long as
: they were able to churn out another hit. That relationship is not possible
: for 343.

After the MCC, I'd have QC crawling all over them too. And heck, despite MS marketing trying to spin Halo 5 as a crazy success, there's got to be a lot of sweaty palms in an office somewhere looking at the declining sales chart... But who knows...

: Whether or not the things they do are good or bad is a matter of opinion.

It's polarizing, that's for sure. Bungie Halos weren't this divisive (except for the babies crying about Armor Lock)...