Microsoft has announced a significant shift in its approach to the Halo franchise, with Activision now set to develop the next game in the series. A newly formed, purpose-built team within Activision will handle the title, operating separately from the developers working on the annual Call of Duty releases. A smaller team at Halo Studios will continue to support the existing Halo community and its current games.
This development coincides with a wave of 268 layoffs across Halo Studios, other Xbox development teams, and Xbox Game Studios management, as previously announced by Microsoft. The restructuring efforts also involve reorganizing studios under Microsoft's recent acquisitions, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty explained in a letter to employees that the goal is to "strengthen our franchises and games by operating fewer business units, aligning groups that already work closely together, and focusing our publishing expertise."
Following this announcement, World's Edge, the studio behind the Age of Empires series, and Rare, known for Sea of Thieves, will also be brought under the Activision umbrella. In parallel, Obsidian Entertainment and its projects, including a new Fallout game, will fall under Bethesda's purview. Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios, long-time creative collaborators on titles like Forza and the upcoming Fable, will merge into a single entity.
Rumors regarding Activision Blizzard's involvement in Halo began to surface earlier this year, with claims that Sledgehammer Games, a Call of Duty studio, had been working on a Halo multiplayer prototype in June, though it was reportedly canceled in July.