The future of the Halo franchise could be heading in a very different direction under Activision if the recent rumors following the recent Xbox reorganization efforts are true. Despite celebrating a major anniversary milestone in 2026, the Xbox brand has seen a lot of volatility this year, and following the recent reorganization, more big changes are apparently on the horizon, especially for the Halo franchise.
After mass layoffs in July, the second phase of this plan took effect on September 22. In an email to the company, Matt Booty confirmed more layoffs across Xbox and a bigger effort to reorganize studios to align groups that already work closely. This includes moves like Playground and Turn 10 merging, as well as Obsidian Entertainment being moved under Bethesda's umbrella. One of the more surprising announcements was the future of the Halo franchise, essentially being moved away from its former caretaker under Halo Studios.
As part of the second reset phase, the Halo franchise moved to Activision. Details were limited, but Activision is putting together a brand new, "purpose-led" development team to work on the next game in the long-running series and separate from the work done for the Call of Duty franchise. In terms of Halo Studios, Booty mentioned that the studio will remain to support the Halo community and "games in-market." Reports indicate that the layoffs hit Halo Studios particularly hard and while Microsoft hasn't revealed specific numbers, rumors are indicating that only 20 developers remain.
Outside a small acknowledgment from Activision, the company hasn't commented on what its plans are for the franchise as a whole. However, new claims indicate that Activision is planning to fully reboot the Halo franchise. An account named "TechnicalHalo" indicated that a source revealed Activision's Halo will be the start of a new chapter and won't continue the franchise's existing lore. Naturally, it's worth remembering that none of this information can be verified, so the rumor should be taken with a grain of salt for the time being.
It stands to reason that a fresh start for Halo, if the rumors are true, could be a good thing, as the series has certainly experienced its fair share of highs and lows as of late. Following the franchise's transition from Bungie to Halo Studios (then named 343 Industries), recent releases in the series have been uneven at best, with Halo Infinite's issues and barebones post-launch support being highly criticized. In fact, insiders even claimed that Asha Sharma and the new Xbox leadership team prioritized fixing Halo all the way back in July, which, following the recent Activision news, seems to have been true after all.
The final straw may have been the recent release of Halo: Campaign Evolved. Despite being a remake of Bungie's original 2001 title, Halo: Combat Evolved, the new game never seemed to land well with fans. Utilizing Unreal Engine 5, Halo: Campaign Evolved faced review bombings and criticism over some significant changes from the original game, various performance issues, a lack of the fan favorite multiplayer modes, and more. At launch, Campaign Evolved even earned the distinction of being the lowest-scoring Halo title on Metacritic, coming in at an 81, which has since dipped slightly to an even 80.
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