Microsoft has officially confirmed that Activision, the studio organization behind Call of Duty, will develop the next mainline Halo game. The announcement comes as Xbox launches another sweeping restructuring effort, with Halo Studios among the teams hit hardest by the latest layoffs.
Xbox announced Tuesday that it is eliminating 268 positions across Halo Studios, other first-party developers, and Xbox Game Studios management and central operations. The cuts are part of a broader “reset” led by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. Microsoft already cut 1,600 jobs this summer and has warned that further reductions will continue throughout the current fiscal year.
Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty said Activision will establish a new, purpose-built team dedicated to Halo, operating separately from its ongoing Call of Duty development and future plans. Halo Studios will retain only a small team to support existing games and the community.
Activision President Rob Kostich said, “Our goal is very clear: to build the greatest Halo game ever—one worthy of this universe and the franchise’s legacy, while remaining true to everything that made players fall in love with it in the first place.”
The move marks another major shift in creative control of the Halo franchise. Bungie originally developed the series before Microsoft established 343 Industries to take over, producing Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite. In 2024, 343 Industries was renamed Halo Studios and announced that several new projects would be developed with Unreal Engine. It remains unclear whether any of that work will carry over to Activision.
The overhaul extends well beyond Halo. Rare, the studio behind Sea of Thieves, and World's Edge, which oversees the Age of Empires franchise, will both move under Activision. Obsidian Entertainment, developer of The Outer Worlds, will become part of Bethesda.
Meanwhile, Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will merge with Playground Games, the team behind Forza Horizon and Fable. Candy Crush developer King will also be folded into Microsoft Casual Games, which handles titles including Solitaire, Mahjong and Minesweeper.
Elsewhere, Hellblade developer Ninja Theory is facing potential closure, while negotiations continue over the future of Arkane Lyon, the Dishonored studio currently developing Marvel's Blade.
Microsoft said the changes are intended to reduce the number of business units, bring closely connected teams together and concentrate resources on major franchises including Halo, Minecraft and Fallout. The shake-up is already being described as one of the largest organizational transformations in Xbox history.
via： IGN