Activision Is Now in Charge for Halo - First Details of the New Game Revealed

A few hours ago, reports began to surface about another major shakeup coming soon as part of the Xbox restructuring. The division’s official statement wasn’t long in coming, and we’re already seeing the first—and quite shocking—news.

Specifically, it's been confirmed Halo Studios is coming under the management of Activision, the publisher of Call of Duty, and that the next Halo game will be developed by a separate studio owned by the company. It has not yet been disclosed which studio this will be. Meanwhile, Halo Studios has lost another group of employees as part of the layoffs, and it is claimed that the remaining developers will continue to support the Halo community and games currently on the market.

The next ‘HALO’ game will be developed under Activision — the same company as Call of Duty.

The new game will be developed by a newly formed team that is separate from the development of ‘Call of Duty’.

Interestingly, Windows Central editor Jez Corden mentioned on a podcast this summer Activision might acquire the rights to Halo, adding, “If it does happen, you heard it here first.” Furthermore, according to Rebs Gaming, which has connections with studio reps, Sledgehammer Games—the studio behind Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: WWII—may be responsible for developing the new Halo video game. Rebs Gaming also recently claimed Activision even has a prototype for the new Halo game, but this information should be treated as a rumor.

It will be interesting to see how Activision approaches the development of the new Halo video game. According to THR, the next Halo game, developed by Activision, will be "a full-featured, mainline installment in the franchise." Additionally, as we recall, Halo: Campaign Evolved—a remake of the original title—was released this summer. Despite strong critical acclaim, the game’s sales have been disappointing.