343 Industries is reportedly taking a backseat to future Halo games, but is overseeing external development, according to a recent report.
A new report claims that longtime Halo developer 343 Industries will be pulled from “active development” of the franchise, and new games in the series will be made by third-party studios. Microsoft’s mass layoffs are hitting 343 Industries hard, with up to a third of its workforce being laid off, according to Halo leaker Bathrobe Spartan – who has leaked internal information multiple times – and translated by Metro. Veteran developer Joseph Staten is reportedly leaving the studio to join Xbox Publishing.
343 Industries will then take on a sort of “parental” role for the franchise, overseeing new games and content while maintaining the game’s engine. This isn’t entirely new territory for 343 Industries, having relied on outside help to develop multiplayer content for Halo Infinite (Season 2 being the best example), but according to Bathrobe Spartan, the planned story-based DLC was scrapped because it wasn’t deemed cost-effective 343 under his control.
Thread on Halo:
I was waiting to share this as they do a good job of breaking it down.
From what I can corroborate, the below is accurate. Halo is certainly not going anywhere, but to realize its potential the management structure is changing (drastically).
— Ains (@Porshapwr) January 19, 2023
A sequel to Halo Infinite is also expected to be in the works alongside the spin-off titles, these games are said to be franchised to other studios and developed with a more modest budget. Although Halo Infinite got off to a strong start, 343 Industries has been criticized in recent months for its delayed content release, lackluster multiplayer development, and numerous bugs.
343 controversially canceled couch co-op to focus on developing Halo Infinite’s live-action features. Even in November, 343 noted the Halo Infinite‘s challenging year and promised an improvement in the pace of content releases starting with the winter update, while reports began to circulate that multiplayer partner Certain Affinity was working on an ambitious new for the game. Season 3: Echoes Within continues to launch on March 7, adding new multiplayer levels, the Bandit Rifle, and two new game modes.
Source: WCCFTECH
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