Where Does Halo Season 2 Fit in the Franchise’s Timeline?

Not sure where Halo Season 2 fits in the franchise’s wider timeline? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.

Where Does Halo Season 2 Fit in the Franchise’s Timeline?

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight: the Halo Paramount+ series takes place in the Silver Timeline – a completely separate continuity from the video games. So, technically, Season 2 doesn’t fit into the franchise’s overarching chronology at all.

That said, the Silver Timeline and the mainline Halo timeline overlap in many ways. Notably, Halo Season 1 and the first-ever Halo game, 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, both take place in the year 2552. They just depict two different versions of that period. This gives us a starting point for Season 2’s date.

Related: What Is The Fall of Reach in Halo Season 2, Explained

By combining Season 1’s date with dialogue in Season 2’s first two episodes, we can pinpoint the latter to either mid-late 2552 or early 2553. This is based on references to six months having elapsed between the first and second seasons.

Given Season 2 depicts the Fall of Reach – an event that canonically occurs in 2552 – it’s reasonable to assume Halo‘s second batch of episodes is likewise set in 2552. As such, Season 2 occupies the same spot on the franchise’s broad strokes timeline as 2010’s Halo: Reach.

How Close Is Halo Season 2 to Halo: Combat Evolved?

So, if Halo Season 2 is (essentially) a retelling of Halo: Reach, how far off is a Halo: Combat Evolved adaptation? Not very far at all, at least in theory.

In the primary Halo timeline, Reach is a direct prequel to Combat Evolved; they’re literally set weeks apart. Assuming the Paramount+ series follows this basic chronology, we could see Pablo Schreiber’s Master Chief stomping around on Installation 04 (better known as Halo) in late Season 2 or early Season 3.

Related: Halo Season 2 Delivers a Stronger Second Campaign (Review)

Again, we’re talking about independent continuities here, and the show could take longer to sync up with Combat Evolved‘s narrative. Heck, it could even ignore it entirely! But given Halo Season 1 already teased a Halo ring’s introduction, a Combat Evolved adaptation probably isn’t far off.

Either way, now you know how Halo Season 2 fits into the franchise’s wider timeline.

Halo Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.