343 Industries Will No Longer Make Halo Games, But Will Oversee Outside Development – Report

A new report claims that longtime Halo developer 343 Industries has been pulled out of “active development” for the franchise and that new games in the series will be created by third-party studios. According to proven Halo leaker Bathrobe Spartan, Metro, Microsoft’s mass layoffs will hit 343 Industries hard, with up to a third of its workforce laid off. Veteran his developer Joseph Staten is reportedly leaving the studio to rejoin Xbox publishing.

343 Industries then takes on the role of Halo’s parent, overseeing new games and content while working on the maintenance of the game engine. This isn’t entirely new territory for 343 Industries, as they rely on outside help to develop Halo Infinite’s multiplayer content (Season 2 is a prime example). Not considered cost effective under 343 stewardship.

A follow-up to Halo Infinite is also expected to enter pre-production along with its spin-off titles, which are reportedly being franchised to other studios and developed on more modest budgets. Halo Infinite had a strong launch, but in recent months 343 Industries has been criticized for slow content rollouts, boring multiplayer progression, and numerous bugs.

Controversially, 343 canceled couch co-op so it could instead focus on developing Halo Infinite’s live service features. Back in November, 343 also noted Halo Infinite’s challenging year, promising an improved content release cadence starting with the Winter Update, but the specific affinity of its multiplayer partners for the game’s ambitious new modes. Season 3: Echoes Within is still slated to launch on March 7th, and will add a new multiplayer map, Bandit rifles, and two new game modes.

GameSpot has reached out to Microsoft for more information and will update the post when we hear back.