Key members of the original Halo development team have hit out at the Department of Homeland Security’s use of Microsoft’s first-person shooter to promote ICE, with one saying: “it makes me sick.”
This week, IGN reported on how the White House had waded into the console wars with an AI image of Donald Trump saluting as Master Chief in front of an American flag with only 40 stars. It has been viewed 43.2 million times so far.
Power to the Players https://t.co/GqNu0qdgmw pic.twitter.com/4Hw6G7i7aW
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 27, 2025
It followed Microsoft’s announcement of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the campaign of 2001’s Halo: Combat Evolved, which is due out on Xbox Series X and S, PC, and PlayStation 5 at some point in 2026. It is the first Halo game ever to launch on a PlayStation console, and cements Microsoft’s position as a multiplatform video game developer.
The Trump administration then doubled down on the Halo AI images, with the Department of Homeland Security using Halo to recruit for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s website (ICE). In a post on social media, now viewed 26 million times, Homeland Security said “destroy the Flood” and “finishing this fight,” referencing Halo’s parasitic alien enemy and its long-running slogan. The use of the Flood here is a clear comparison to the immigrants ICE rounds up for deportation.
Finishing this fight. pic.twitter.com/6Ezq9NUqMq
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 27, 2025
While Microsoft has so far remained silent on the issue (IGN has asked for comment), Marcus Lehto, who was the art director on Combat Evolved and thus heavily involved in the iconic look of Halo itself, slammed the ICE post in an interview with Game File. He called the ICE post “absolutely abhorrent,” adding: “It really makes me sick seeing Halo co-opted like this.”
Game File also spoke with Jaime Griesemer, another one of the key developers behind Halo and who was most involved with designing Halo’s famous ‘30 seconds of fun’ gameplay loop. He was less bothered by the Trump post, but took issue with the ICE post.
“Using Halo imagery in a call to ‘destroy’ people because of their immigration status goes way too far, and ought to offend every Halo fan, regardless of political orientation,” Griesemer said. “I personally find it despicable. The Flood are evil space zombie parasites and are not an allegory to any group of people.”
He continued: “I think Halo’s world is rich and wide and has layers that reward a deeper look, and it has had an outsized impact on culture, so it is easy to read into it and see elements of current or historical events.
“But it was NOT written as an allegory to any specific religion or political party or movement. The Prophets are not Popes, the Grunts are not Wahhabis, and the Flood are definitely not illegal immigrants. The Master Chief is not a Christ figure and Cortana is not the Virgin Mary, I guess?”
As for the Trump meme, the White House is claiming it is about Trump claiming credit for ending another war (in this case, the console war). White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai told reporter Alyssa Mercante in a statement: “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.”
Microsoft’s silence on the matter is in contrast to The Pokémon Company’s position. It formally responded to the use of Pokémon TV hero Ash Ketchum and the series’ theme tune by the Department of Homeland Security as part of a video showing people being arrested and handcuffed by law enforcement agents.
“We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand,” The Pokémon Company International said in a statement shared with IGN. “Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
The question is, can Microsoft do anything about the Trump administration using Halo for promotion? Many fans had suggested The Pokémon Company should defend its intellectual property by launching legal action. But the corporation’s former legal chief told IGN at the time that he “wouldn’t touch this.”
“I don’t see them doing anything about this for a few reasons,” McGowan, now principal at Extreme Grownup Services, told IGN. “First, think of how little you see [The Pokémon Company International]’s name in the press. They are INSANELY publicity-shy and prefer to let the brand be the brand.
“Second, many of their execs in the USA are on green cards,” he continued. “Even if I was still at the company I wouldn’t touch this, and I’m the most trigger-happy CLO [Chief Legal Officer] I’ve ever met. This will blow over in a couple of days and they’ll be happy to let it.”
The Trump administration has form when it comes to using AI images to promote the President. In May, Trump sparked a backlash from some Catholics after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope. The picture, which was shared by official White House social media accounts, was released as Catholics mourned the death of Pope Francis and prepared to choose the next pontiff.
The White House has also released AI images of Trump as Superman and as a Star Wars Jedi. And when the Department of Homeland Security used South Park to promote ICE, South Park trolled Trump in response, saying: “wait, so we ARE relevant?”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
