"Good luck today, Halo friends": After years of rivalry, Call of Duty's creators have taken charge of Xbox's defining FPS series amid yet more layoffs
For decades, Halo developers have resisted the influence of the vastly better-selling Call of Duty shooters. Now, the makers of Call of Duty own Halo. As part of Microsoft's on-going axing-down of their Xbox gaming business , the company have placed Bungie's old FPS in the hands of Activision, while making layoffs at erstwhile series custodian Halo Studios and demoting the latter to a support…
After years of rivalry, the creators of Call of Duty now oversee Xbox's defining first-person shooter series, Halo. As Microsoft continues to streamline its gaming business, the company has placed Bungie's old FPS under Activision after making layoffs at Halo Studios and demoting it to a support studio for existing titles. Xbox has announced plans to lay off 268 employees, including those from Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and central functions.
Activision will lead the development of the next Halo game, while a small team at Halo Studios will continue to support the community and games in-market. The merger of studios and reallocation of projects have been part of Microsoft's efforts to reduce its workforce by 3,200 people over the next financial year. Former Halo Studios employees have expressed solidarity with those affected by the layoffs.
Written by urgent.news from Rock Paper Shotgun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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