343's future with the Halo franchise is lost in a sea of speculation
The Halo series is grabbing headlines, with some claiming that 343 Industries has been taken of developing the franchise's future and others saying we shouldn't believe the rumours.
16th Jul 2024 12:00
Images via 343 Industries
343's future with the Halo franchise is lost in a sea of speculation
The Halo series is grabbing headlines, with some claiming that 343 Industries has been taken of developing the franchise's future and others saying we shouldn't believe the rumours.
16th Jul 2024 12:00
Images via 343 Industries
It looks like the Halo series could be in more trouble, as developer 343 Industries is reportedly facing an uncertain future. While Bungie steered the series in its early days, 343 has taken over since 2011's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.
There have been some highs like Halo 4 and lows like Halo: Spartan Strike, but somewhere in the middle was 2021's Halo Infinite. Although it got off to a promising start and looked like it could genuinely rival Call of Duty: Vanguard, Infinite soon proved it couldn't live up to the limitlessness of its name.
No one knows what's going on with Halo
The internet is awash with sensationalist headlines that 343 has been taken of developing the next Halo game. We've heard plenty about the studio developing the inevitable Infinite sequel, but according to some, 343 has been demoted to simply "overseeing" the project.
An extensive thread on X (formerly Twitter) from trusted Halo source @BathrobeCast claims that many developers left 343 in the aftermath of Infinite. Combining this with a series of layoffs and contractors not transferring to becoming full-time employees means the team has reportedly dipped below 300 staff.
The big one is that 343 could potentially focus on the concept and pre-production phases, supervising development while other studios will develop the bulk of the game. There are mentions about Microsoft having a "lack of confidence" in 343, but this is something that BathrobeCast has since clarified as people twisting their words.
As for the future of the franchise, the OP claims that two Halo projects are currently in pre-production, with one of them being a much bigger multiplayer. Considering this is much like Call of Duty and the majority of Halo players come for the multiplayer, this big actually makes a lot of sense.
In a case of "Don't believe the hype," noted industry insider Jez Corden claims this isn't the case at all. Following the news that 343 has effectively been demoted, Corden wrote, "Checked into latest xbox rumor going around that '343i isn't going to develop Halo games' and instead only 'oversee' them: false af in case you believed it."
Reminding us that 343 has hundreds of employees and is still actively recruiting through numerous open positions, he said, "Pretty big team if all you're doing is overseeing." It's clear something is going on at 343, but whether it's full steam ahead on the next Halo or things are grinding to a halt, there's no official word.
There's speculation that we could be getting a Combat Evolved remake alongside the next main entry, however, both are still expected to be a long way off. With Halo Infinite's three-year anniversary in December and the title being put out to pasture, there could soon be a very large Halo-shaped hole in our lives.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
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