Yesterday, we wrote about how the next Halo will most likely be a complete reboot, with the current lore and universe ditched in favor of starting fresh under new leadership. Now, leaks suggest there were multiple Halo projects in development at Halo Studios prior to XBOX’s restructuring, including a couple of remakes.
According to Halo leaker “Leaks Infinite,” three Halo projects were being worked on prior to XBOX’s sweeping layoffs at Halo Studios. These include the remakes of Halo 2 and 3, as well as the next major entry in the franchise known only as Halo 7. Apparently, there were also “huge modes” planned for this new game, but that’s all been scrapped now after Halo Studios was utterly gutted and left with just 20 employees total.
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Activision is also taking over Halo going forward, and as we wrote yesterday, it’s already planning a full reboot of the franchise that will abandon the current lore and stories of the series, likely in an effort to scrape off everything produced after Bungie’s departure.
Leaks Infinite also claims that Halo Studios’ skeleton crew is “in a rush to try and release anything that was nearing completion,” which includes a new Halo novel and Halo: Parasite’s Wake.
The Halo Championship Series, the franchise’s chief competitive organizer, has been “shelved,” the leaker claims, with most of the staff related to it laid off. Halo Fest remains, but it’s uncertain what the plans for it are at the moment.
Halo‘s been in rough shape for many, many years now, and some would even argue that it’s been on a steady decline for a decade and a half at this point. It needed changes, but whether giving it over to Activision was a good idea remains to be seen.
