Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier has published a new report, detailing new developments around the recent mass layoffs at Microsoft, how they’ve affected Halo studio 343 Industries and what the future of the Halo franchise might look like.
For starters, Schrier says that Bloomberg has seen a spreadsheet of the names of employees at 343i that have been let go, which reportedly includes at least 95 names from temporary contractors all the way to studio veterans and directors. Early claims that the studio would be put on some degree of “curator” role over being the core developer for the series going forward have apparently been refuted by Head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty.
Microsoft's 343 Industries is undergoing a massive reorganization and strategy shift to revive the acclaimed Halo video game franchise. https://t.co/5dsMgibQGR
— Bloomberg (@business) January 31, 2023
Elsewhere in the report, Schrier says that while many would have assumed that 343i was working on new single-player content for Halo Infinite, the team is actually looking toward releasing entirely new games – and these might not be developed using the same internal Slipspace engine as Infinite. Instead, future Halo titles may even pivot towards using the Unreal engine, although it’s claimed that the studio is divided over concerns that changing engines could disrupt the “feel” of Halo’s gameplay.
At least one new Halo title codenamed “Tatanka” which is potentially a battle royale, and is being made in conjunction with Certain Affinity, is already set to use the Unreal Engine.
You can read the full report here (though it its paywalled) for more detail.
