Today, Xbox announced it will lay off 268 employees from Halo developer Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and Xbox Game Studios management and central functions, while restructuring and merging several studios.
Key restructuring details are as follows:
World's Edge and Rare will be merged under Activision, which will form a "brand-new dedicated team" to develop the next Halo title, while a small portion of the Halo Studios team will continue to support the Halo community and existing Halo games. (Update: According to a World's Edge employee on the ResetEra forum, nearly half of the studio's staff were also laid off.)
Obsidian Entertainment will be merged into Bethesda Softworks
Microsoft Casual Games will migrate to the King platform
Forza Horizon developer Playground Games will merge with Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, forming an independent studio focused on the Forza and Fable series after the merger.
Microsoft also provided an update on the asset divestiture plan announced in July:
In August, Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions returned to independent management with their IPs, back catalogs, and operating funds.
Undead Labs has successfully completed its transition and will launch State of Decay 3 on Game Pass simultaneously under its new publisher identity. (Update: Undead Labs is now an independently operated company.)
Both independent agreements with Ninja Theory have failed, and consultations regarding the proposed closure will now begin while continuing to explore other paths forward.
Discussions with Arkane Lyon are still ongoing and are expected to continue until the end of 2026
Regarding the new Halo title developed by Activision, you might assume it's another remake, but sources from The Hollywood Reporter indicate otherwise. It is reportedly a "full-fledged mainline sequel."
Halo Infinite continues the story from Halo 5: Guardians, but also makes significant changes to previous lore and attempts to start a brand-new storyline centered around Xalayn or the Endless. Clearly, this plan did not come to fruition, as Halo Studios shifted its focus to multiplayer mode updates while confirming that the next installment will use the Unreal Engine.
The only thing we know for sure right now is that Activision wants to make this game "the greatest Halo game ever." As for when it will be released, that remains unknown, but considering Xbox's consistent promotion of first-party exclusive titles, it wouldn't be surprising if it ultimately becomes a console exclusive.
"Full features" also implies multiplayer modes, which Halo: Evolution Campaign notably lacks.