It was recently confirmed that Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees across the entire company, with number of game development studios under the Xbox umbrella also being impacted. One of those has been confirmed to be 343 Industries, in light of which recent reports have claimed that the studio is being gutted, transitioned to a management role for the Halo franchise, and moved off development itself, with future projects allegedly being handed out to external studios.
343 Industries, however, has come forward and publicly refuted these claims. In a short and succinct statement published by the official Halo page, 343 Industries has confirmed that it will continue to develop Halo games in the future, and that that will entail both single player and multiplayer offerings.
“Halo and Master Chief are here to stay,” the developer writes. “343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.”
343 Industries recently reiterated that Halo Infinite is on track to receive new additional content in the coming months, in line with its previously-detailed roadmap. Meanwhile, Certain Affinity is also currently working on new content for the shooter.
Amidst the layoffs and restructuring at 343 Industries, it was also confirmed that Head of Creative Joseph Staten has also left the studio and rejoined Xbox’s publishing decision. Recently, former Halo Infinite senior multiplayer designer Patrick Wren criticized the studio and Microsoft for the layoffs, criticizing “incompetent leadership”.