Former Halo leaders lament effective closure of Halo Studios, as one employee finds themselves promoted and fired in same week
Halo Studios has been effectively shut down following sweeping Microsoft Xbox cuts, leaving only a small support team. Former leaders Bonnie Ross and Kiki Wolfkill expressed support for affected staff, while cinematic director Josh Daniels said he was promoted and laid off in the same week. Major Halo development is moving to Activision, which has formed a separate team to work on the next game.
The cuts affected 268 people across Halo Studios, other first-party studios and Xbox management, although the exact number of Halo redundancies is unknown. Halo Studios evolved from 343 Industries, which had overseen the franchise since Bungie’s departure in 2007, and was renamed two years ago. The wider restructuring also involves changes or layoffs at Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, World’s Edge, Playground Games, Turn 10 and other Xbox divisions.
- Halo Studios has been reduced to a small support team.
- Microsoft’s cuts affected 268 Xbox employees.
- Activision will lead development of the next Halo game.