Halo Studios Reportedly Has Around 30 Employees Left After Layoffs as Activision Takes Charge of Franchise

Halo Studios was hit with significant layoffs and lost its stewardship of the Halo franchise this week as part of a new round of Xbox cuts. In its announcement, Microsoft said a small team at the studio would continue to support the Halo community and other Xbox projects. That small team is reportedly only around 30-strong.

According to a new video report by noted Halo insider Rebs Gaming, around 30 employees, including studio head Pierre Hintze, remain at Halo Studios after the layoffs. Hintze is reportedly still in charge, while the rest of the employees include engineers, designers, artists, and support staff from different teams at the studio.

The report also claimed, citing sources familiar with the matter, that some Halo Studios employees presented a concept update for Halo 7—the next mainline Halo title—to Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty and other company executives last week before the latest round of layoffs.

The game would have reportedly included a campaign, PvP and PvE multiplayer experiences, and Forge, Halo's in-game creation mode that allows players to build multiplayer levels and modes—all at launch. However, the project was reportedly only in the concept and planning phase of development and was “years away” from launch.

Halo Studios Planned Multiple Halo Games

Halo Studios, in fact, did not have any new Halo game in production, the report claimed. Instead, multiple projects, including previously reported remakes of Halo 2 and Halo 3, were reportedly in the planning phase. In addition to the remakes and Halo 7, the studio was working on a standalone spinoff game based on the Halo novel, First Strike, the report said.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the report claimed that the spinoff Halo title, set between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, was in early stages of development, with Halo Studios working on how to best adapt the novel. The spinoff game was reportedly meant to be a smaller project that could be developed and released in 2027.

The fates of these projects remain uncertain after the layoffs. The next Halo game, instead, is being developed by Activision. The Call of Duty maker has begun assembling a dedicated team for the project, separate from ongoing development and plans for Call of Duty.

The remaining staff at Halo Studios, including Hintze, reportedly want to find a way to work on smaller Halo games, but a source told Rebs Gaming it was “very unlikely” that Microsoft or Activision would approve those projects. The source also added that Activision, now in charge of the next Halo game, wanted “nothing to do with Pierre.”

Halo Studios and Xbox had not confirmed the next Halo game before the new round of layoffs this week. Halo Studios released Halo: Campaign Evolved, a full remake of the first Halo title, in July to mixed critical and commercial response.

Activision has not yet revealed its plans for the next Halo game. The title is likely years away from launch as the company has only begun forming the development team for the project.

“For Halo, our goal is clear: make the greatest Halo game ever, worthy of its universe and legacy, while staying true to what made players love it in the first place,” Activision president Rob Kostich said this week. “It is a bold ambition, one that this franchise deserves. We have already begun assembling a purpose-built team, unique in capability and talent, ready and excited to deliver this next chapter with the community.”