Activision Takes Over Future Halo Game Development

Xbox has handed future Halo game development to Activision, which says it has begun assembling a dedicated team for the franchise. Activision president Rob Kostich said the company aims to make a game worthy of Halo’s legacy, but the project’s story, format and release timing have not been officially detailed in the supplied announcements. The change puts Activision in charge of developing the next Halo title, while Halo Studios remains open in a support role on existing games, according to Xbox. Xbox also said the new Activision team will be separate from the group that works on Call of Duty. The sources do not provide details about the team’s size, staffing or development schedule. Kostich said Activision had already begun assembling a purpose-built team and described its ambition as delivering a new chapter with the Halo community. He said the goal was to make the greatest Halo game while staying true to what players value about the series. The statement did not specify gameplay features or a launch window. A report relayed in coverage of the change described Activision’s first Halo project as a full-feature, mainline installment.