Microsoft has today confirmed that the next mainline Halo game will be developed by Call of Duty maker Activision, with mass layoffs hitting Halo Studios amid a significant restructure of its Xbox studios setup.
Xbox announced 268 layoffs today "across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the XGS management and central functions layer" as part of the ongoing cuts first announced in July. The layoffs, the majority of which are at Halo Studios, come as part of new Xbox boss Asha Sharma’s “reset” of Microsoft's gaming business that had already seen 1,600 staff lose their jobs in the summer. At the time, Microsoft said another 1,600 staff on top would also go this financial year.
"The actions completed since July, inclusive of the studio divestitures, bring us roughly three-quarters of the way through previously announced restructuring," Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty said in a blog post. "I am deeply grateful for what our colleagues have built, and I know how difficult today will be for those leaving and the teams around them."
With Halo Studios gutted, Microsoft has handed Halo to Activision. Activision will develop "the next Halo title," Booty said, "led by a new, purpose-built team that is separate from ongoing development and plans for Call of Duty. A small team at Halo Studios will continue supporting the Halo community and games in-market."
Booty did not say when the next Halo game will come out, or if Activision plans to reboot the series or rotate it into its schedule of releases for Call of Duty, which hasn’t missed an annual release for 20 years.
Halo moving to Activision follows a string of tough releases for the franchise under Xbox's stewardship. Microsoft bought the Halo franchise when it purchased its original developer, Bungie, in 2000. Bungie then split from Microsoft to become independent again in 2007, and went to work on looter shooter Destiny as part of a high-profile, 10-year publishing deal with Activision. Meanwhile, Microsoft set up 343 Industries, so named after 343 Guilty Spark from the Halo games, to take Halo into a new era. 2012's Halo 4 was the first Halo game released by 343. It was followed by 2015's Halo 5: Guardians, which in turn was followed by 2021's much-delayed Halo Infinite. Halo Infinite in particular struggled, and this year's Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the beloved first Halo game, suffered problems of its own.
In 2024, 343 Industries changed its name to Halo Studios and announced plans to work on multiple new Halo games that would all be developed on Epic's Unreal Engine. The announcements were unveiled in a seven-minute video shown ahead of the Halo World Championship's grand finals, which showcased the results of Project Foundry — an experimental project designed to show a Halo game built using Unreal Engine. While it was not much more than a tech demo, the video offered a glimpse at a fresh beginning for Xbox's flagship franchise in the wake of Halo Infinite's troubled launch. The question is, will any of that work be carried forward by Activision? Check out Ryan McCaffrey's reaction to today's Xbox news in his opinion article, Can Activision Save Halo?
Meanwhile, Xbox has moved Age of Empires developer World's Edge and Sea of Thieves developer Rare under the Activision umbrella, without confirming the legendary British studio's next game.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/confirmed-microsoft-hands-halo-to-call-of-duty-developer-activision-as-part-of-huge-xbox-studios-shakeup
