[STEAM] Microsoft Remains Quiet After Trump AI Master Chief Image and Homeland Security Uses Halo to Promote ICE

[Steam 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

has chosen to remain silent after Donald Trump released an AI image of the U.S. president as Master Chief and the Department of Homeland Security used Halo to promote ICE on social media.

Yesterday,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

in front of an American flag with only 40 stars.

Power to the Players

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

— The White House (@WhiteHouse)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

It followed

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

’s announcement of

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, 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

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

’s position as a multiplatform video game developer.

The U.S. administration then doubled down on the Halo AI images, with the Department of Homeland Security using Halo to promote the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s website (ICE).

Finishing this fight.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

The social media posts have sparked a vociferous response from Halo fans, which led to

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. Mods usually remove any posts containing “politics and AI slop,” but such was the desire to discuss the tweets, they made an exception.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, however, has so far remained silent on the issue. The company is yet to issue IGN a statement, but a representative told

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

that "

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

does not have anything to share on this matter."

This is in contrast to The Pokémon Company’s position.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

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

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

do anything about Trump and his 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,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at *****@*****.tld.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up