Halo Developer’s Unbelievable Carefree Trump Game Project Revealed!

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Summary

  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary developer Saber Interactive was working on a Donald Trump game circa 2018.
  • Called Trump Fu, the game was envisioned as a Trump-themed take on the Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn concept.
  • While Shaq Fu flopped and Trump Fu was eventually abandoned, the former eventually led to Saber landing an NBA Playgrounds contract, which made it “a lot of money,” not least because of its impeccably timed release on the Switch.

It’s worth mentioning that the creators behind Halo, specifically Saber Interactive, initially contemplated developing a video game featuring Donald Trump. This concept, which was later discarded by Saber, can be loosely connected to Shaquille O’Neal.

Established in 2001, Saber Interactive built a name for itself as a flexible studio, capable of spearheading projects and offering co-development services. Although the company enjoyed several victories throughout its career, its major breakthrough was with the critically praised Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a remake of Microsoft’s famous 2001 Xbox first-person shooter. Saber Interactive subsequently contributed to the production of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and has recently achieved success with Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, a successful third-person shooter released in September 2024.

Between “Halo: The Master Chief Collection” and “Space Marine 2”, the studio considered developing a game based on Donald Trump. This information comes from Matthew Karch, co-founder and CEO of Saber, who shared this in an interview with Stephen Totilo from Game File. This idea didn’t just pop up spontaneously, but can be traced back to Karch’s meeting with Shaquille O’Neal, which took place after the release of “Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary” in 2011. During their first encounter, Shaq proposed a game where he plays a detective. Initially, Karch wasn’t too keen on this idea, but later suggested a sequel to the 1994 game “Shaq Fu” instead.

Saber Interactive’s Fighting Games Featuring Celebrities

  • Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (2018)
  • Barack Fu : The Adventures of Dirty Barry (2018)
    • Released as Shaq Fu DLC
  • Trump Fu (canceled sometime after summer 2018)

‘Absolutely Nobody Played’ Shaq Fu’s Barack Obama DLC

Following a successful Indiegogo campaign and raising $458,884 through crowdfunding, Saber Interactive developed the game “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn“, which was among the most critically panned games of 2018. The fighting game also introduced a Barack Obama-themed DLC known as “Barack Fu : The Adventures of Dirty Barry“. According to Karch, this expansion pack was scarcely played by anyone.

In the tale, Trump’s administration works against him, leading to a crash of his aircraft in the Mexican wilderness. Stranded, he must find a way to return across the border fence. This is the gist of the narrative.

Later on, Saber Entertainment contemplated a spin-off called “Trump Fu“. This project was being worked on during Trump’s initial term as the U.S. President. As for the plot, they had an idea about how Trump’s Cabinet would sabotage him and his plane would crash in the Mexican desert, leaving him to find a way back over the border wall. Karch recounted. However, this concept was eventually scrapped, with Karch proposing another idea for a fighting game centered around Putin, which unfortunately never took off either.

Despite Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn not being a global sensation, it opened doors for Saber to secure a deal for NBA Playgrounds. Released in May 2017 on multiple platforms like the Switch, which was only two months old at the time, the game found itself in a sparse market and quickly dominated the eShop. With the Nintendo Switch experiencing a scarcity of games in its initial phase, NBA Playgrounds encountered minimal competition and thrived on the platform. As Karch reminisced from his Gulf Stream 280 private jet, which he purchased for $23 million in 2022, the game proved to be a lucrative venture for Saber.

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2025-02-12 15:54