According to a recent leak, 343 Industries will not be developing Halo games going forward, with future instalments instead being developed by third-party studios.
As reported by Gamespot, well-known Halo leaker Bathrobe Spartan has taken to Twitter with a huge thread detailing the yet-to-be-announced shift for the series and the impact that Microsoft’s recent layoffs are having on 343. According to the leak, a third of the studio’s workforce has either been laid off or transferred to other teams within the Microsoft banner, leading to several changes being made to the studio that will effectively end its development capabilities.
Les licenciements au sein de 343 Industries s'inscrivent malheureusement en conséquence d'une mauvaise gestion du studio et de ses effectifs par les personnes en charge.
Si cela aurait pu être évité, l'impact sur la stratégie reste minime: du contenu axé multijoueur.
🧵 Thread pic.twitter.com/eB1AyaNk1O
— Bathrobe Spartan 🎧 Podcast Halo (@BathrobeSpartan) January 19, 2023
Though 343 will remain involved in the online multiplayer portion of Halo Infinite, alongside various other studios, the team will not be helming any future instalments. Instead, the leak suggests that Microsoft will “franchise the Halo license to other studios,” leaving 343 to oversee the projects. This will allegedly allow for smaller budget releases to be developed by other studios, with Xbox Game Studios and 343 Industries acting in supervisory roles.
Additionally, 343 Industries will continue to maintain and improve the Slipspace Engine that Infinite runs on, with the aforementioned third-party studios likely to be given access to develop future titles.
As this is an unconfirmed leak, the information should be taken with a Spartan-sized grain of salt, but with the uneven launch of Halo Infinite and the game’s rocky post-launch support, this move wouldn’t be completely out of the blue.
What do you make of this leak? Do you think moving Halo away from 343 is the right call? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
Shoutouts to Gamespot.
Adam's undying love for all things PlayStation can only be rivalled by his obsession with vacuuming. Whether it's a Dyson or a DualShock in hand you can guarantee he has a passion for it. PSN: TheVacuumVandal XBL: VacuumVandal Steam: TheVacuumVandal
