Activision Takes Over Next Halo: Frank O’Connor Urges Bungie and Halo Studios Talent Hiring

His intervention comes after Microsoft’s September 22, 2026 announcement assigning the next Halo title to a new Activision team. The important distinction: Xbox has confirmed a development handoff, not a creative roadmap. An organizational chart is not a game design document, even when Master Chief is standing next to it.

What Xbox has actually confirmed​

In his Xbox Wire announcement, Matt Booty said Activision would develop the next Halo game through a purpose-built team separate from Call of Duty’s ongoing development and plans. A smaller Halo Studios team will continue supporting existing games and the community.

Booty also announced 268 role eliminations across several parts of Xbox, including Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and management and central functions. That is not a Halo Studios-specific headcount, and the announcement does not establish that everyone at the studio was dismissed.

The practical takeaway: development responsibility is changing, but the official statement explicitly retains support for games already in players’ hands. It provides neither a support timetable nor detailed commitments about future updates.

O’Connor’s three possible paths​

According to VGC’s account of his remarks, O’Connor described these alternatives:

• Build around classic Halo. Preserve its movement and sandbox shooter foundations, with ambitions scaled around the core audience and room to attract newcomers.
• Reinvent the experience. Explore a substantially different action or sandbox game, potentially an action RPG, supported by storytelling and the Halo universe.
• Use an Activision-style model. Apply familiar progression and business approaches, potentially combining annual or semiannual releases with continuous content.

He cautioned that none offers an easy or assured outcome.

These options describe different strategic priorities, not merely different feature lists. As an editorial assessment, the first emphasizes continuity, the second creative change, and the third production cadence. The useful question is therefore not simply “Will Activision make Halo better?” It is which definition of success the new team will pursue.

Nor should the third option be mistaken for evidence that Halo is becoming an annual franchise. Xbox’s announcement specifies a separate team; it does not announce a release cadence or business model.

A new team need not discard experienced people​

O’Connor also advised against tying development to hardware or services launches, forcing the game onto an unsuitable platform, or abandoning its sandbox. His hiring recommendation explicitly included developers displaced from Bungie and Halo Studios. VGC reports that Bungie also experienced significant cuts earlier in 2026.

The underlying argument is worth separating from nostalgia: changing leadership and retaining experienced developers are not mutually exclusive. In our assessment, a fresh structure could still benefit from people who understand the franchise’s design decisions and production challenges. That does not mean rehiring particular individuals would guarantee success—or that any former employee wants to return.

For Xbox and PC readers, the clearest conclusion remains modest: the next Halo has a confirmed new development structure, while its design remains undefined in the announcement. O’Connor’s proposals illuminate the choices ahead, but they are advice from a former creative leader, not commitments from Halo’s new custodians.

Update: Halo Studios signals intent to finish novel amid Activision handoff (October 6, 2026)​

Halo Studios reportedly still intends to complete the forthcoming novel Halo: Fireteam Noble following the development handoff, according to IGN’s October 6 report on a studio blog post. Franchise writer Alex Wakeford said Troy Denning’s story is written and a substantial portion of editing has been completed. That is an expression of intent, not a confirmed publication date or guarantee of release.

According to IGN, another novel, Halo: Burn the Road Home, by senior franchise writer Kenneth Peters, is also in development, but its eventual release remains uncertain. The report provides no confirmed refund arrangements should either project fail to reach publication.

The same blog reportedly includes artwork and a tease concerning the Xalanyn, also known as the Endless. However, IGN says most of the post was written before the reshuffle. Those materials therefore offer a glimpse of Halo Studios’ earlier narrative planning—not confirmation of Activision’s direction. For PC and Xbox players, the distinction matters: neither the lore tease nor the novel update establishes the next game’s enemies, storyline, release cadence or business model.

Update: Report outlines Halo Studios’ remaining work and possible closure (October 7, 2026)​

Halo Studios reportedly retains a 30-person team led by Pierre Hintze, with priorities including Halo Fest and a final content update for Halo: Campaign Evolved, according to Windows Central’s October 7 report citing leaker @MrRebs. This adds a claimed staffing figure and specific assignments to the previously announced support role, but remains unofficial reporting.

According to Windows Central’s account of the leak, the planned update could introduce Firefight and Theater modes, offering wave-based PvE and replay tools respectively. The report also warns that layoffs could cause features to be cut. For PC and Xbox players, those additions should therefore be treated as possibilities rather than promised content; the report supplies no release date.

Windows Central further reports that the leaker’s source expects Halo Studios eventually to disappear and claims its remaining team has no contact with Activision’s future Halo operation. That goes beyond the earlier announcement of a smaller support team, but does not establish a confirmed closure or layoff timetable. Nor does the reported lack of contact settle whether Activision might subsequently recruit former Halo developers.