Microsoft Might Be Considering the Possibility of Transferring Halo Franchise Rights to Activision

It is expected that we will have concrete information about the fate of various gaming studios under Xbox Game Studios as part of the planned restructuring process of Microsoft by next Monday, July 6. Undoubtedly, Halo Studios with its same-titled franchise Halo are also on the list of potential victims—while the studio's closure is almost certainly off the table, staff reductions still remain a likely possibility.

Given this, Windows Central editor Jez Corden recently appeared on the latest episode of the XB2 412 podcast on Rand al Thor 19’s YouTube channel, where he shared that he had heard a "crazy rumor" that Microsoft might give the rights to the Halo franchise to Activision. However, Corden himself expressed doubts about the rumor's reliability but pointed out that if it does happen, he is the first to claim it. More words from Corden about the possible transition of the Halo franchise to Activision you can check out below:

“I heard a crazy rumor that they might put Halo under Activision, which—I don't, for what it's worth—I don't necessarily believe that right now. But if it does happen, you heard it here first, this is the kind of thing that they're looking at, 'How do we structure Halo so it can actually start delivering on the level of potential that it actually has?' Because up to now, I would argue that it pretty much hasn't. They are looking at the way Activision does things a lot, the way Blizzard does things a lot, because Halo could function like a Blizzard franchise.”

As you may know, this month Halo Studios is releasing a new (sort of) installment in the game series—Halo: Campaign Evolved, a remake of the original 2001 video game. Additionally, according to various rumors, an MMOFPS set in the Halo universe is in development, and it is expected to be similar to Destiny 2; furthermore, recent reports suggest that the studio has cancelled Project Ekur —a standalone multiplayer Halo title, built on Unreal Engine 5. Despite these recent reports, Microsoft and Halo Studios have not commented on these leaks, so it's best to take them with a grain of salt.

Are you excited that Activision could receive the rights to Halo? Would you like to see that? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Halo: Campaign Evolved will release on July 28 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.