Marty O’Donnell helped give Halo one of the most recognizable sounds in video game history. Now the former Bungie composer says his political campaign has cost him a place at a 25th anniversary reunion celebrating the franchise.
O’Donnell, the Republican nominee for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, said SacAnime disinvited him from its upcoming Sacramento convention after concerns were raised about comments connected to his campaign.
In an Aug. 11 post on X, he described the decision as another example of “Cancel Culture.” The explanation O’Donnell shared was more specific than a routine guest cancellation.
A screenshot of a message posted with his announcement said the SacAnime promoter had been told that LGBTQ staff did not feel comfortable with O’Donnell attending because of his “recently reported statements” from the political campaign. SacAnime has not publicly issued a detailed statement explaining the decision.
O’Donnell Said SacAnime Pulled His Invitation
I’m very disappointed that SacAnime has disinvited me from a Halo 25 reunion at their conference next month. If you thought we defeated Cancel Culture in 2024, guess again! pic.twitter.com/DSEWcIEjDA
— Marty O’Donnell (@MartyTheElder) August 11, 2026
O’Donnell said he had been invited to participate in a Halo reunion at SacAnime Summer 2026 and had expected to appear alongside performers associated with the franchise. “I’m very disappointed that SacAnime has disinvited me from a Halo 25 reunion at their conference next month,” he wrote. “If you thought we defeated Cancel Culture in 2024, guess again!”
“The promoter for SacAnime has shared that his LGBTQ staff does not feel comfortable if you attend the event,” the message said. It continued that, based on O’Donnell’s “recently reported statements of the political campaign,” the invitation had been rescinded to avoid “further staff upset.” That Park Place reported the same message and said O’Donnell had been scheduled for the 25th anniversary gathering.
SacAnime Had Publicly Announced O’Donnell Before Removing Him
SacAnime published a page titled “SacAnime Summer 2026 Welcomes Marty O’Donnell” on July 13. That page now returns a 404 error, although it remains visible in search-engine results and in links from other pages on the convention’s website.
The convention’s current guest list includes several major Halo figures, including Jen Taylor, Steve Downes, Jeff Steitzer and Tim Dadabo. O’Donnell is no longer listed. Taylor, the longtime voice of Cortana and Dr. Halsey, had also promoted the gathering in a social media video that mentioned O’Donnell alongside the other Halo guests.
SacAnime Summer 2026 remains scheduled for Sept. 4 through Sept. 6 at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, Memorial Auditorium and Hyatt Ballroom in Sacramento, according to the convention’s official event information.
The Dispute Appears Tied to O’Donnell’s Campaign Remarks
The controversy surrounding O’Donnell’s appearance follows comments he made while discussing what he sees as ideological threats to Western society.
During an appearance on The WDW Pro Show, O’Donnell described the “abyss” and “existential threat” he was discussing as “Marxism” and “anti-Western philosophy.” He then said there was a “weird alliance” among groups he identified as LGBTQ+ people, Islamists and Marxists, accusing them of presenting themselves as oppressed.
The progressive social media project Headquarters subsequently posted a clip of the remarks and accused O’Donnell of calling for LGBTQ+ people to be persecuted and of treating them as an “existential threat.” Headquarters grew out of the former Kamala HQ social media operation used during Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.
O’Donnell disputes that characterization. Geeks + Gamers reported that O’Donnell believes the resulting coverage contributed to the SacAnime decision.
O’Donnell Says His Republican Candidacy Is the Real Reason
O’Donnell has gone further than the message he shared, arguing that his status as a Republican congressional candidate ultimately explains why he was removed.
He told Geeks + Gamers that SacAnime invited him in January and had continued preparing for his appearance months later, including requesting promotional material from him shortly before the invitation was withdrawn. “I was pulled because I am a Republican candidate for office,” O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell Is the Republican Nominee in a Competitive Nevada House Race
Reuters reported that O’Donnell won the Republican primary for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District in June after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement. He will face Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in November.
Reuters described the Las Vegas-area district as a battleground that could help determine control of the U.S. House, noting that Lee won reelection in 2024 by nearly three percentage points even as Trump narrowly carried the district.
O’Donnell also loaned his campaign $3 million during the primary and received support from the House Republicans’ campaign arm through its program for candidates in competitive districts.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has since joined the backlash against SacAnime. According to The Nevada Globe, an NRCC spokesperson criticized the convention after O’Donnell announced that his invitation had been withdrawn.
O’Donnell Helped Define the Sound of Halo
O’Donnell’s connection to Halo extends back to the franchise’s earliest years. Working with Michael Salvatori, O’Donnell composed music for the original Bungie Halo games and served as Bungie’s audio director. The Gregorian chant at the heart of the original theme became one of the franchise’s defining sounds.
Xbox itself has identified O’Donnell as a member of the original Halo 2 development team when revisiting the making of the game, alongside figures including writer Joseph Staten and multiplayer designer Max Hoberman.