Hear ye, hear ye, the console wars are over! At least, GameStop announced it was after Xbox confirmed the Halo Combat Evolved remake will be crossing the floor and launching simultaneously on PS5; a landmark moment for one of the most iconic FPS game franchises of all time. Responding to the post, the official White House X account shared an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump donning Master Chief’s iconic Spartan – it’s 2025, baby, this, apparently, is what happens now. While this isn’t inherently offensive to anyone without eyes, the Trump administration has followed up by ostensibly taking credit for ending the long-running feud.
The introduction of AI has been both transformative and destructive, completely reinventing how people work for better or worse. As a writer, it’s an existential threat, so understand my biases aren’t without good reason. Unsurprisingly, there’s been significant pushback against the heinous amount of AI slop within creative industries, especially gaming. Ben recently reported that over 500 Steam Next Fest demos utilized generative AI, while an ex-EA employee recently told Business Insider that they suspected their termination was due to the tech encroaching on a key part of their remit.
Suffice it to say, the most powerful office in the world leaning into the worst aspects of AI is a bit of a sore one. It isn’t only the White House comms team that’s getting in on the action either. The Department of Homeland Security also shared a politically charged call to join ICE with the caption ‘destroy the Flood,’ set against UNSC marines driving along in a Humvee. In Halo, the Flood is deemed a parasitic alien lifeform; the dogwhistle is at full pitch.
Surely, Halo being co-opted in this way should merit some sort of response from Microsoft, right? Well, the gaming monolith has kept shtum, and, considering it recently donated to the ongoing construction of the president’s new $300 million ballroom, I suspect it’ll stay that way.
Having reached out to both the Department of Homeland Security and the White House Press Office for comment, journalist Alyssa Mercante eventually received the following response from White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai:
“Yet another war ended under President Trump’s watch – only one leader is fully committed to giving power to the players, and that leader is Donald J. Trump. That’s why he’s hugely popular with the American people and American Gamers.”
So, there you have it, folks, Trump is the gamers’ president. Maybe he’ll finally get that coveted Nobel Peace Prize after overseeing the end of the console wars? I keep waiting for the ‘keep politics out of gaming’ crowd to decry the posts, but for some strange reason they’re awfully quiet right now.
Anyway, if you’re after some cracking shooters to delve into ahead of the Halo CE remake, check out our rundown of the best multiplayer games. Or, if you’re curious as to what else is on the horizon, peep our upcoming PC games list.
If you’ve got any pressing thoughts about the Halo remake, AI in gaming, or the current social media landscape, drop into our community Discord server and let us know.