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It’s Officially the End of an Era For Halo
Xbox has announced major restructuring that includes 268 job cuts, with Halo Studios facing significant downsizing as part of the shake-up. Most strikingly, Activision—the developer behind Call of Duty—will now develop the next Halo game, whilst only a small team at Halo Studios will remain to support existing titles. This represents a symbolic end to a decades-long rivalry between the two franchises and marks a watershed moment for one of gaming's most iconic series.
Halo has been integral to Xbox's identity since Bungie's 2001 original launched the platform, with Halo 2 and Halo 3 considered amongst the greatest first-person shooters ever made. However, the franchise has struggled in recent years: Halo Infinite launched in 2021 to 20 million players but failed to retain its audience, lacking features present in earlier games and shipping with an incomplete experience. The original developer, 343 Industries, had been managing both game development and maintaining a proprietary Slipspace engine, before rebranding as Halo Studios in 2025 and pivoting to Unreal Engine.
In short
- Xbox cuts 268 jobs; Halo Studios massively downsized amid restructuring
- Activision to develop next Halo game, ending franchise independence
- Halo Infinite failed to retain players despite strong launch numbers
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Having a Call of Duty developer take the lead could bring fresh production expertise and help Halo deliver a more complete, regularly supported game after recent struggles. A smaller Halo Studios team could still protect continuity and guide the series, while the restructuring may give the franchise a clearer focus and a better chance of reaching a broad audience.
The case against
Halo’s identity was built through decades of work by teams closely connected to the series, so handing development to a studio best known for a rival franchise risks losing distinctive tone and design knowledge. Downsizing the dedicated team may weaken that continuity and signal that Xbox is treating a defining part of its heritage chiefly as a cost or staffing problem, rather than investing in the people and tools needed to rebuild it.
Explained simply
Halo is a science-fiction shooter series that helped establish Microsoft’s Xbox as a major games console. Its early games, made by Bungie, became known for their story and multiplayer matches, and the series has remained one of Xbox’s best-known titles.
After Bungie moved on, 343 Industries took charge of making Halo games and supporting the series. Halo Infinite, released in 2021, attracted a large initial audience but struggled to keep players, amid criticism that it lacked features found in earlier games.
The series has also faced the challenge of building and maintaining its own game technology. Its later developer, renamed Halo Studios, began moving to Unreal Engine, a widely used tool for making games. Halo’s fortunes matter to Xbox because the franchise has long been closely tied to the console’s identity.