Activision takes the reins of Halo: a new team, layoffs and a legacy on the line

Few franchises carry as much weight in the history of competitive shooters as Halo, and Microsoft has just given it a twist nobody saw coming. According to GameSpot, the next mainline entry in the series won't come from Halo Studios but from Activision, which is putting together a brand-new team dedicated exclusively to the project. Halo Studios isn't going away, but it's being left with a small group tasked with supporting the community and maintaining the games already on the market.

The announcement comes with far more bitter news: a new wave of layoffs affecting 268 people across Halo Studios, other Xbox studios and Xbox Game Studios leadership. For those of us who grew up with Slayer matches over LAN and Halo tournaments, this is much more than a logo change in the credits: it's a sign that Microsoft wants to rewrite, from the ground up, how its most iconic series gets made.

What you need to know

• Activision will develop the next Halo with a team built specifically for the franchise.
• That studio will operate separately from the teams that produce Call of Duty every year.
• A small group from Halo Studios will keep supporting the community and the current titles.
• Microsoft confirmed 268 layoffs hitting Halo Studios, other Xbox developers and Xbox Game Studios leadership.
• Microsoft's studios are being reorganized under its two big acquisitions: Bethesda and Activision.

What changes and who it affects

The most obvious change is creative ownership. Halo went from Bungie to 343 Industries, which later rebranded as Halo Studios, and now it's making the jump into Activision's structure. The company insists this isn't about getting the Call of Duty teams to make a reskinned Halo: the new studio will be independent of CoD's annual cycle. That's an important clarification, because that's exactly the immediate fear for much of the community: that Halo's pacing and design end up tainted by the formula of its more profitable neighbor.

Activision president Rob Kostich set the bar very high in his statement. In essence, he said the following:

The goal is to make the best Halo ever, worthy of its universe and its legacy, without losing what made players fall in love with it from the very beginning.

Kostich also spoke of a bold ambition that, in his view, the franchise deserves, and said the team is already being assembled with talent chosen specifically for this chapter, with the intention of building it alongside the community.

The human side of the announcement

None of this softens the blow for the people at Halo Studios. The layoffs were part of a wave Microsoft had already signaled, but now they have real names and faces at the studio that kept the series going for years. The franchise living on is no comfort to those losing their jobs, and it's worth remembering that whenever we celebrate or criticize what comes next. On top of that comes the broader reorganization of Xbox's studios under the Bethesda and Activision umbrellas, a move that makes it clear where Microsoft's strategy is heading.

Our take

Here in the Underworld Lordz newsroom, we have mixed feelings. On one hand, Halo has spent far too long searching for its identity: uneven launches, content that arrives late and a competitive scene that never quite took off the way it deserved. A new team with resources and a clear mandate could be exactly the shake-up the series needs. Activision knows how to build shooters that work on a technical level, with solid netcode and a steady content cadence, and that's exactly what a competitive player asks of any game that wants to be taken seriously.

On the other hand, we're worried about the word missing from the statement: ranked. Halo isn't just any shooter; it's a game of map control, power weapon timings, precise shots and pure skill. If the new studio turns it into a product optimized for monetization and short cycles, we'll lose what made the quintessential arena shooter unique. Saying the team is separate from Call of Duty is all well and good, but what really matters is the design philosophy, and we'll only see that once the game is in our hands.

For content creators, the situation is uncertain too. A Halo backed by Activision's muscle could bring more visibility, more events and bigger audiences; but a long transition, with Halo Studios reduced to maintenance, could leave a drought of new content that wears down the current community. Our advice: don't give up on the games that already exist, and demand transparency from the very first trailer.

What do you think?

Halo is changing hands, and time will tell whether it was a rescue or a mistake. We already have our doubts, but we want to hear yours. Do you trust Activision to give Halo back its place in the competitive scene, or do you think the series is losing its soul? Jump into the team chat or our Discord and let us know.