Why Don't We See Female Elites In Halo?

If you're an Xbox user, chances are you've played a few "Halo" games in your day. Generally viewed as Microsoft's best game franchise, "Halo" has existed for quite a while now. The series has had many years to expand its lore and build a massive world filled with alien creatures and genetically engineered soldiers. 

With so many entries under its belt, you would expect the franchise to evolve with the times. As you play through the various titles, there's something you may notice about "Halo" Elites that might have you scratching your head: they're almost always male. The Sangheili species, as they're properly known, seems to only dispatch male troops; however, if you dive deeper into the lore as players have done Reddit, you will find that there are female Elites. So, why don't they show up in the video games? Here's what you should know.

According to one Redditor, female Elites are more prominent in the "Halo" book series, though there are at least two who "have been depicted visually." In another thread, a user offered a more thorough explanation on the subject: "Female Sangheili hold considerable power when it comes to issues within their family keeps, including political matters, civil duties and trade. Both male and female Sangheili are taught to fight from a young age, although only males go on to become warriors."

Considering female Sangheili are trained in combat along with their male counterparts and that they are written into the novels, it seems like they ought to be appear in future "Halo" games as well. One Redditor put out a call for female Elites to enter the fray. In the post, they outlined how players only got to select a gender for Spartans in the last two installments of the mainline series and that "Halo Infinite" needs to expand this option to the Sangheili soldiers. 

The "Halo" franchise may be slow to come around — after all, it took almost 20 years for "Halo: Combat Evolved" to finally fix its graphics — but that doesn't mean gamers won't eventually get to encounter female Elites.