What is happening at 343 Industries?

A new report has claimed that longtime Halo developer 343 Industries is being taken off of "active development" of the franchise and that new games in the series will be created by third-party studios.

What is going on with 343 Industries?

Microsoft Corp. says it's going to keep making new games in the popular Halo franchise at its prized 343 Industries studio — despite rumors to the contrary. But after a leadership overhaul, mass layoffs and a host of big changes, the outfit is all but starting from scratch.

Is 343 being shut down?

While the initial survey question might have sparked some panic, it doesn't look like 343 has any plans to end service of Halo Infinite just yet.

How many people have left 343 Industries?

343 Industries "all but starting from scratch" on franchise future. Microsoft has cut "at least 95 people" from Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries, according to a new report that sheds fresh light on this month's layoffs.

Has 343 given up on Halo?

343 Industries, the internal studio that Microsoft created to carry on the work of making Halo games after Bungie's departure from the fold, has issued a statement reassuring fans that it will, in fact, continue to make Halo games.

What’s Going On With Halo & 343 Industries? | GameSpot News

Is 343 losing rights to Halo?

“Halo and Master Chief are here to stay,” 343 said in a statement attributed to studio head Pierre Hintze. “343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.”

Who owns Halo now?

Halo is a military science fiction media franchise, originally developed by Bungie and currently managed and developed by 343 Industries, part of Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios.

Who leads 343 now?

On September 12, 2022, Bonnie Ross announced she would step down as studio head. Following her departure, her responsibilities were split into three positions. Pierre Hintze took over as studio head, Bryan Koski became GM of the franchise and Elizabeth Van Wyck took over business and operations.

Why did 343 fail?

In the words of those who worked on it, Microsoft and 343 Industries set it up to fail. A lack of resources, a fractured production cycle, unclear post-launch plans, and constant fumbling of a project that should have been a slam dunk.

What did 343 do to Halo?

Following a large round of layoffs and rumors regarding the future of the Halo series, developer 343 Industries has revealed it is still working on Halo--and the Master Chief's story. A report from last week stated 343 would no longer make Halo games, instead overseeing external partners working on the franchise.

Why did Bungie stop making Halo?

Bungie stepped away from Halo and its publisher, Microsoft, in 2007, in order to push forward in the industry rather than be tied to a franchise that had found success at the start of the century, according to community manager David "DeeJ" Dague.

What will Microsoft do with Halo?

“Halo and Master Chief are here to stay,” studio head Pierre Hintze said. “343 Industries will continue to developer Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.” According to Spencer, the layoffs were an effort by Microsoft to position 343 for the future.

Will Bungie return to Halo?

They wanted to work on something else. Microsoft effectively would not let them separate themselves from MS with Halo, so to separate they made a deal with MS - sell Halo and they could do what they wanted. They even made a literal declaration of independence. Bungie is not coming back, and never will, and never could.

Does Bungie still own any rights to Halo?

Nope. Although Bungie created the Halo franchise and made the first handful of games, rights to the franchise still belong to Microsoft. Bungie began work on the original Halo in 1997, but Microsoft purchased the studio while the game was still in development, acquiring the IP in the process.

Why did Bungie sell Halo to 343?

Bungie wanted to be an independent company. Since Microsoft owned Halo, Bungie had to give it up in order to achieve that goal. Therefore, 343 Industries was created to continue the game.

Did 343 apologize for highly offensive Halo Infinite cosmetic?

Tom Ivan. 343 Industries has apologised for releasing an offensively named Halo Infinite Juneteenth cosmetic. To mark Juneteenth, an annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the US, the studio released an emblem which included a palette option called “Bonobo”, which is the name of an endangered ape.

Is 343 done with Halo Infinite?

Despite rumors claiming otherwise, 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo games following Halo Infinite.

Does Halo have a future?

No new story content for Halo Infinite is being worked on, Bloomberg reported, while unreleased multiplayer modes languish with tech troubles, and external studio Certain Affinity works on a possible battle royale-style spinoff.

Is Destiny 2 more popular than Halo Infinite?

Fun fact: There are more players playing #Destiny2 on Stadia than players playing #HaloInfinite on Steam. It's equally hard to envisage the game significantly improving anytime soon given 343 Industries' most recent development roadmap.

Is Destiny bigger than Halo?

Destiny is easily a more powerful universe than Halo.

Why would Bungie sell Halo?

They decided they'd had enough after Reach and left. The mantle rests with 343 Industries now, and anyone that wanted to make a halo would have to work for or with them.

Why is Halo leaving Xbox?

The Halo studio is among many impacted by Microsoft's layoffs, including Gears of War studio, The Coalition, and the more recently acquired Bethesda. Microsoft's blog notes that cuts impact 5% of its workforce. That's in addition to the 1,000 employees let go in October 2022.

Will Xbox still own Halo?

While Bungie was a part of Microsoft back in the 2000s, after it split, Halo became a part of Microsoft. That means that Microsoft still owns the rights and will continue to hold the rights of Halo. So, the deal will not be affecting Halo in any way, and fans will continue to enjoy the Halo games on Xbox itself.

Why does Bungie like the number 7?

Biblical References. Some have speculated that Bungie's fascination with the number seven stems from the Bible. Seven appears as a significant number throughout the Bible, most notably in the Catholic belief that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.