Xbox has assigned development of the next Halo title to a purpose-built team at Activision, separate from its Call of Duty work. Halo Studios will retain a small team to support the community and games already in-market. The announcement is a change in who is developing the next title—not a stated transfer of the entire Halo franchise or all ongoing responsibilities.
Who is making the next Halo game?
In a September 22, 2026 announcement, Xbox executive Matt Booty said Activision would develop the next Halo title with a new, purpose-built team. Xbox said that team would be separate from ongoing Call of Duty development and plans. The announcement does not name the new team’s members, identify a release date, or say when the game will be shown.
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Xbox also said a small team at Halo Studios would continue supporting the Halo community and games already in-market. It did not disclose the size of that team or specify which live-game activities it will handle.
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No such broad handover was announced. The stated assignment is development of the next Halo title. Halo Studios retains a support role for existing games and the community. Xbox did not define who will oversee the franchise as a whole, whether Activision’s role extends beyond this title, or how responsibility will be divided across future projects.
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There were no competing bids or alternative development teams identified in the announcement. “Activision takes over Halo” therefore overstates what Xbox has confirmed.
How the assignment fits Xbox’s wider restructuring
Booty placed the change within a broader reorganization of Xbox. He said its goal was “to strengthen our franchises and games by operating fewer business units, aligning groups that already work closely together, and focusing our publishing expertise.” That is Xbox’s stated rationale; the announcement does not independently establish that the structure will improve games or business results.
Xbox said it was eliminating 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and Xbox Game Studios management and central functions. It did not disclose how many of those roles were at Halo Studios. The company also said actions completed since July, including studio divestitures, meant it was roughly three-quarters of the way through its previously announced restructuring. These are figures and progress claims from Xbox, not independently verified totals.
What Xbox said in July
In a July 2026 memo, Xbox executive Asha Sharma described the business as unhealthy and said its margins were “3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.” Xbox also said that in a typical year it had lost 64 cents for every dollar invested. Those are company descriptions of Xbox’s own performance, not Halo-specific financial figures or independent industry measurements.
The July reset included planned workforce reductions, studio divestitures, changes to investment, and a simpler operating structure. Xbox said some areas had as many as 14 management layers and set a goal of no more than five, or three where possible. It also planned a 50% reduction in vendor spending. Those were targets and descriptions in the July announcement; they do not establish that the changes have since been fully achieved.
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What changed from Halo Studios’ 2024 plans?
In October 2024, Xbox announced that 343 Industries was becoming Halo Studios, described a studio reorganization, and said future Halo projects would use Unreal Engine 5. It also reported that multiple games were in development. That announcement described a shift in how the studio would make games and support multiple experiences.
The September 2026 memo does not explain which projects announced in 2024 remain active, whether any teams moved, or how those projects relate to Activision’s assignment. It also does not say whether the next title will use Unreal Engine 5. The 2024 plans provide context, but they do not resolve the current project lineup or technology choice.
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What this means for players—and what remains unknown
For players, the immediate distinction is between the next title and games already available: Activision’s purpose-built team is assigned the former, while a small Halo Studios team is to support the latter and the community. Xbox has not provided enough detail to draw conclusions about release timing, game quality, the next title’s format, or changes to support for any particular existing game.
- Confirmed: Activision will develop the next Halo title with a purpose-built team separate from Call of Duty development and plans.
- Confirmed: A small Halo Studios team will support the community and games already in-market.
- Not specified: The next game’s release date, scope, engine, team size, and relationship to the projects announced in 2024.
- Not specified: Whether Activision’s assignment establishes a longer-term role in Halo beyond the next title.
The assignment is notable as an organizational change inside Microsoft’s gaming portfolio, but Xbox has not tied it to a specific release schedule or promised outcome for the games themselves. Microsoft’s January 2022 announcement of its Activision Blizzard acquisition cited the company’s franchises, player reach, publishing capability, and potential Game Pass contribution as reasons for the deal; those were the acquisition rationale at the time, not evidence explaining this particular assignment.
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