If you’ve got $225 lying around, a need for new boots, and a commitment to the Halo fandom that has a tendency to override common sense, then these new Master Chief-inspired clodhoppers from American shoemaker Wolverine might be just the thing. you need.
The new boots, based on Wolverine’s Hellcat boot, are being developed in partnership with Halo studio 343 Industries, a collaboration that came together after fans started pointing out that the gear looked like something out of the Halo universe.
“Comments poured in asking the brand to make the boots a reality,” Wolverine said. “Now, after nearly a year of design and collaboration, Wolverine and 343 Industries answer the call.”
The boots are Master Chief green (I don’t know what the tone is officially called), suitably rugged and worn-looking, and emblazoned with 117, the Master Chief’s spartan number, and the UNSC—United Nations Space insignia. Order. It also bears the logo of the Materials Group, the division of the Office of Naval Intelligence that developed the Mjolnir motorized assault armor worn by the Spartans.
“Given our roots in military sci-fi, our fans have often told us that there was an appetite for a Master Chief-inspired boot. So when Wolverine approached us for a collaboration, we were ready to respond. On call.” said John Friend, 343’s director of Halo and Xbox consumer products.
“The limited-edition boot gives Halo fans a chance to step in (the boots) to become Master Chief and integrate the Halo universe into their daily lives, and we can’t wait to see how fans react to the collaboration and upcoming launches as part of our partnership with Wolverine.”
Alas, the opportunity to “become Master Chief” will be limited to a very, very small number of Halo fans. Not because of the price – really, $225 isn’t an outrageous price for a decent pair of boots – but because only 117 pairs are made. It’s unclear how the boots will be awarded – first-come, first-served, some lottery system of some kind, or something else entirely – but it’s safe to assume that whatever the details, they’ll go quickly.
For the record, this is far from the first video game shoe collaboration to happen in recent years. Razer recently collaborated on Sneakers Sneki Snek (which are actually a lot more low-key than you might think), and this week the Overwatch League’s Washington judge posted a pair of gamer slippers developed in partnership with TIME. EA and Puma have teamed up to Need for speed: shoes in 2019, while Call of Duty teamed up with Adidas and Pusha T for their own fancy shoes the same year.
This isn’t even Bungie’s first mystical super-soldier inspired boot set: that honor goes to those Destiny 2 Boots, created in collaboration with the famous shoemaker Palladium. And believe it or not, this tech-shoe synergy works both ways. Here’s a pair of cute sneakers from RTKFT that’s actually a PC powered by RTX 3080. It turns out that shoes and PCs go hand in hand.
Wolverine’s Master Chief boots are set to go on sale March 29. If you want to be notified when this happens, you can subscribe to wolverine.com.
