The Next Halo Game From Halo Studios Was Reportedly Still Years Away, Before Microsoft Handed the Franchise to Activision
Microsoft announced a significant restructuring of its gaming divisions this week, handing the Halo franchise to Activision as part of a broader “reset” of its Xbox strategy. Halo Studios, the developer previously responsible for the series, was gutted to a skeleton crew tasked only with managing existing Halo games, while Activision will establish a new team to develop the next mainline Halo title.
The shake-up also included moving Rare (Sea of Thieves developer) and World’s Edge (Age of Empires developer) under the Activision umbrella, consolidating multiple studios under the Call of Duty publisher’s control.
According to reporting from The Verge and gaming insiders, the decision surprised Halo Studios employees. The next Halo game that Halo Studios had been working toward was reportedly still years away from launch, with the studio having no concrete project in active production. Employees learned of the restructuring through a public Xbox blog post before receiving individual notifications, with some waiting hours to determine if they retained their positions.
This represents a dramatic shift in the franchise’s future, as Halo Studios had already experienced multiple project cancellations in recent years. By transferring the franchise to Activision, Microsoft is entrusting one of Xbox’s most iconic series to an external publisher, signaling deeper organizational changes as the company seeks to revitalize its gaming portfolio.