Halo's Next Game Was Years Away Before Microsoft Pulled the Plug

Did you see this one coming? Microsoft just dropped a bombshell on the Halo community: the next big Halo game from Halo Studios was reportedly still years away from launch before Microsoft canceled it this week. That's according to The Verge, which says the project was so far off that Microsoft decided to pull the plug entirely.

As part of a broader Xbox "reset," Microsoft gutted Halo Studios, leaving only a skeleton crew to manage the existing Halo games. The Halo franchise itself has been handed over to Activision—yes, the Call of Duty company. Activision is now setting up a brand-new team to build the next mainline Halo game, leaving what remains of Halo Studios out of the picture. Microsoft also moved Sea of Thieves developer Rare and Age of Empires developer World's Edge under the Activision umbrella as part of the same shakeup.

For Halo Studios, this is just the latest chapter in a rough few years. The studio has seen multiple Halo projects canceled, and significant leadership changes have sparked plenty of questions about its future. The last mainline Halo game, Halo Infinite, launched nearly five years ago in December 2021. This year's Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the beloved first Halo game, also suffered problems of its own. Staff affected by this week's layoffs have been speaking out on social media, with one former employee writing on LinkedIn: "I'm a jumble of thoughts and emotions, but mostly relief. I was miserable for the last year and a half and it'll be nice to feel something different."

So how did we get here? Microsoft obtained Halo when it acquired original developer Bungie in 2000. After helping establish the Xbox console with Halo and Halo 2, Bungie split from Microsoft to become independent again in 2007, later working on Destiny under a 10-year publishing deal with Activision. Microsoft then set up 343 Industries—named after 343 Guilty Spark—to take Halo into a new era. 2012's Halo 4 was the first Halo game released by 343, followed by 2015's Halo 5: Guardians and 2021's much-delayed Halo Infinite. In 2024, 343 Industries changed its name to Halo Studios and announced plans to work on multiple new Halo games built on Epic's Unreal Engine, showcased in a seven-minute video ahead of the Halo World Championship's grand finals.

Now, all eyes are on Activision. Microsoft has said it's setting up "a new, purpose-built team that is separate from ongoing development and plans for Call of Duty." But Microsoft hasn't said when the next Halo game will come out, or whether Activision plans to reboot the series or rotate it into its annual Call of Duty release schedule—which hasn't missed a year in two decades. Rob Kostich, president of Activision, issued a statement: "We're thrilled to welcome Halo, Rare, and World's Edge to Activision. It's an honor and a responsibility that we do not take lightly. These teams and their games have inspired fans around the world for decades. 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. To the World's Edge and Rare teams, we can't wait to get to work together."

Meanwhile, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is looking to double down on the company's biggest franchises—Fallout, Minecraft, and Halo among them—and release big new games in those franchises more frequently. Activision releases a brand-new mainline Call of Duty every year, and Sharma may be hoping some of that cadence rubs off on Halo. But for now, the future of Master Chief's next adventure is a big question mark.

What do you think about Activision taking over Halo? Will you be picking up the next game, whenever it arrives? Let us know in the comments!