Microsoft hands Halo development to Activision and reorganizes Xbox studios — The Verge

Microsoft is transferring development of the Halo series to Activision as part of a major reorganization of its Xbox gaming business. As The Verge reports, future Halo games will be developed by a separate newly created Activision team that is not connected to the Call of Duty teams. Halo Studios will remain, but will primarily support the community and Halo games already on the market.

Layoffs and changes at studios

The company is also eliminating 268 positions at Halo Studios, other internal studios, and Xbox Game Studios’ central management structures. This is part of the second wave of previously announced layoffs: 1,600 employees were dismissed in July, while another 1,600 cuts were planned during the next fiscal year.

Sea of Thieves developer Rare and World’s Edge, which works on Age of Empires, are moving under Activision’s management. Obsidian is being transferred from Xbox Game Studios to Bethesda Game Studios, where it will focus on the Fallout franchise. At the same time, Microsoft’s casual games, including Minesweeper and Solitaire, are moving under the management of King, known for developing Candy Crush.

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Playground and Turn 10 merger

Microsoft is also merging Playground and Turn 10, the studios responsible for Fable and Forza, respectively. The company previously spun off Double Fine and Compulsion into independent studios.

According to the publication, these steps are part of an Xbox reboot, which new CEO Asha Sharma explained as an effort to reach more than one billion people every day. The strategy calls for greater focus on the well-known Minecraft, Halo, and Candy Crush franchises, as well as a review of investment levels in the Game Pass subscription service.

Activision President Rob Kostich said the company’s goal for Halo is to create the best game in the series, one that lives up to its legacy and retains the qualities for which players have come to love the franchise. According to him, Activision is already assembling a specialized team for the next stage of Halo’s development.