Ex-Bungie chief says making new mobile shooter was almost as tough as creating the first Halo

Mobile games appear to be simple compared to their bigger, flashier cousins on consoles. But one developer maintains making his first app for smartphones and tablets was harder than making one of the biggest first-person shooters of all time.

Industrial Toys is launching its Midnight Star shooter game for iOS today after three years of development. Bungie cofounder Alex Seropian said in an interview that the task of creating the mobile game was almost as hard as creating the original Halo. The ambition of Industrial Toys is to bring the fun of hardcore console-like games to the $25 billion mobile gaming market, where casual fare such as Candy Crush Saga has ruled. If anyone has a chance of bringing hardcore games to mobile, it’s people like Seropian, whose Halo series from Bungie has sold more than 60 million copies.