Xbox just went through another round of layoffs yesterday which has resulted in a total of 268 employees being let go from the company across Halo Studios and other first-party studios. Besides, it was also confirmed that the next mainline entries in the iconic Halo franchise will now be developed by Activision instead of Halo Studios which has been hit badly in yesterday’s harsh job cuts.
The news was first announced by Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty in a new official blog post which stated that the Call of Duty-maker will now step into the legendary Halo franchise: “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.”
However, today a new claim has surfaced that states Activision may reboot the entire Halo franchise which would usher in a whole new era for the series of first person shooters. The claim has been made via TechnicalHalo on X, who states that the decade-long franchise will now head into “a new chapter” which is essentially going to be “a reboot” and earlier “lore is not going to be continued”.
But as Microsoft didn’t provide any info regarding the supposed new direction for the series, you may want to take this with a grain of salt, at least for now. However, as the Halo series has been one of the longest running franchise for the Xbox, from the early days of the console, making a full reboot may certainly have a bit of divisive effect on the fan base, in more ways than one.
Meanwhile, Rob Kostich, president of Activision has issued the following official statement regarding the relocation of multiple franchises including Halo: “For Halo, our goal is clear: make the greatest Halo game ever, worthy of its universe and legacy, while staying true to what made players love it in the first place. It is a bold ambition, one that this franchise deserves. We have already begun assembling a purpose-built team, unique in capability and talent, ready and excited to deliver this next chapter with the community.”
In other news of the Halo franchise, according to Rhys Elliot of Alinea Analytics, Halo Campaign Evolved has sold 1.2 million units across all platforms so far, resulting in an estimated revenue of $67 million in total.
