Halohas been in a rough spot for a while now. The most recent mainline title,Halo: Infinitehas been a mixed bag in terms of fan response ever since release, and theHaloTV show from Paramount+ was recently (and mercifully) canceled after two seasons. For fans of the franchise,it’s been a difficult era that, so far, doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, even with multiple titles rumored to be in development right now.
While there was a beacon of hope in the form of a teaser for aHalo: Combat Evolvedremaster (or remake), a recent quote from an anonymous developer at Halo Studios has me very concerned about the series’ future. At the Xbox Games Showcase last month, Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, stated that a classic game that’s been with the company since the beginning would return. The hype for this clear hint forHalo: CEhas been real, but theinternal issues at Microsoft Gaming are casting doubt that 2026 will be the yearHaloreturns to its former glory.
Halo Studios Has Been Hit With Waves Of Layoffs
Gaming Has Been A Turbulent Industry
The gaming industry as a whole has been a difficult landscape, aswaves of layoffs have hit every major player in the last few years. Microsoft, and the many studios under its umbrella, haveconsistently been part of the bad news, which includes entire projects being canceled. One high-profile case involvedEverwild, a Rare title whose cancellation also saw theexit of Gregg Mayles, the legendary game director behindDonkey Kong Country 1,DKC 2,Banjo-Kazooie, andSea of Thieves.
With Microsoft continuing to bleed talent, especially in narrative departments,the future ofHalomay only become more dire as time goes on. According to a recent report byEngadget, Halo Studios (formerly known as 343 Industries before a massive rebranding in late 2024) lost at least five employees in the most recent wave. Despite the rebranding and supposed refocus by Microsoft to prioritizeHaloas a tentpole franchise, the studio and the games currently in development may not be doing well.
Halo Studios Seems To Be Struggling
Beyond Halo Studios losing even more employees, it seems thatthe nextHaloproject isn’t coming along very well. In theEngadgetreport, an anonymous developer working for Halo Studios laid out the current situation at the company, stating that, “I don’t think anybody is really happy about the quality of the product right now.”Which project this developer is speaking about isn’t clear, but theupcoming remake/remaster ofHalo: Combat Evolvedis a likely candidate. With the franchise in a rough spot, concerns about its next installment are troubling.
The situation at the studio has also been difficult, according to the anonymous dev, who stated that “there’s been a lot of tension and pep talks trying to rally folks to ship”.Burnout, alongside near-constant layoffs, isn’t a good recipe for good company morale or employee well-being. With Phil Spencer’s earlier tease forHalo: Combat Evolved, likely for an announcement at the Halo World Championship this October, that gives Halo Studios only around four months to get everything in order.
Halo Used To Be A Gaming Juggernaut
The Cultural Relevance Of Master Chief Is Drastically Reduced
It’s disappointing to see how farHalohas fallen in the cultural zeitgeist throughout the 2020s. From 2001’sHalo: Combat EvolvedtoHalo 4in 2012,Halowas one of the most prominent video game series in the world. The originalHalo: CEwas a revolutionary FPS title, andHalo 2and3followed it up to create a perfect trilogy. Master Chief was the face of Xbox (despite never showing his actual face), and most players spent their hours together as Spartans in multiplayer matches.
Haloneeds a new era to pull fans back in.
With the rise of free-to-play battle royale titles likeApex LegendsandPUBG: Battlegrounds,Halohas struggled to reestablish itself in the FPS genre. Players have faster-paced games with lower barriers to entry in pricing, and whileHalo: Infinitedid manage to cultivate a loyal fanbase, it wasultimately disappointing as a live-service gameand hasn’t reached the same heights of cultural relevance as earlier games.Haloneeds a new era to pull fans back in, but with the news that Halo Studios is struggling with layoffs and internal morale, the future ofHaloisn’t looking great.
A remaster or remake ofHalo: Combat Evolvedcould bring the series back into the mainstream conversation and give a classic game some modern polish, a lot like Capcom successfully did with their remakes ofResident Evil 2, 3,and4.However,if this seemingly straightforward task doesn’t launch well, fans will be left to wait and hope that the nextHalotitle even makes it through production.
