Activision will develop the next Halo game in major Xbox shake-up. 22 September, 2026 Activision developing the next Halo game marks a historic change for one of Xbox's most recognizable franchises. Microsoft announced the move on Sept. 22 as part of a wider restructuring of its gaming division. A new, purpose-built team under Activision will lead the project. The group will operate separately from Activision's ongoing work on the Call of Duty franchise. Activision developing the next Halo game. Xbox executive Matt Booty confirmed the change in an internal message published by Xbox Wire. The announcement did not identify the new Halo game's title, release date or platforms. However, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the project will be a full mainline entry. That description suggests it will be more than a remake, expansion or smaller spinoff. Activision has decades of experience managing major action franchises. Its portfolio includes Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023. As a result, Halo and Call of Duty now operate within the same broader corporate organization. What happens to Halo Studios? Halo Studios, formerly known as 343 Industries, will remain active but with a smaller staff. According to Microsoft, the team will support existing Halo games and maintain its connection with the community. The restructuring includes 268 job cuts across Halo Studios, other Xbox teams and management operations. Microsoft described the changes as part of a larger effort to reduce the number of business units. Halo Studios had overseen the franchise since Bungie completed its final Halo title, Halo: Reach, in 2010. The studio later developed Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite. In 2024, 343 Industries changed its name to Halo Studios. The company also announced a move from its internal Slipspace Engine to Unreal Engine 5. A new chapter after Campaign Evolved. The leadership change follows the release of Halo: Campaign Evolved. Halo Studios developed the remake as a modern version of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign. The game rebuilt Master Chief's first adventure with updated visuals, refined controls and new missions. It also brought the franchise to PlayStation 5 for the first time. Activision's project appears separate from Campaign Evolved and other games already available. Microsoft has not explained whether the next title will continue the story of Halo Infinite. The company also has not named the leaders or developers joining Activision's Halo team. More information will likely arrive after the new group completes its initial planning. What the change means for Halo. The move places Halo under an organization with extensive experience producing large first-person shooters. Activision's Call of Duty teams have managed annual releases, online services and competitive multiplayer for years. However, Microsoft specifically said the new Halo team will remain separate from Call of Duty development. That distinction may address concerns that Halo could simply adopt Call of Duty's design or release model. Halo has its own gameplay identity built around shields, vehicles, open combat spaces and science-fiction storytelling. Preserving those elements will be an important test for the new development group. For now, Microsoft has only confirmed who will lead the next project. Its story, multiplayer plans and release window remain unannounced. The transition represents Halo's biggest development change since Microsoft moved the franchise from Bungie to 343 Industries. Fans across Texas and beyond can follow official Halo and Xbox channels for confirmed updates about Master Chief's next mission.

Activision Blizzard faces fresh harassment suit over HR's handling of complaints. A former Blizzard Entertainment employee has sued Activision Blizzard, alleging years of sexual assault, harassment and wage violations that the company's human resources department dismissed, according to HR Dive. The suit was filed last week in California Superior Court for Los Angeles County. The plaintiff, identified in court filings as Jane Doe, worked in Blizzard's sound department for roughly 14 years beginning in 2009 before her employment ended in April 2024, according to the New York Post and Law Commentary. She started as a part-time worker before moving into salaried roles at the company. What does the lawsuit allege happened? Doe accuses nine male employees of misconduct that ranged from unwanted touching to attempted rape, HR Dive reported. In one incident, a co-worker allegedly lured her to his apartment, blocked her exit and threatened her with physical violence before attempting to rape her. That same man later demanded dates, spread sexual rumors about her and called her demeaning slurs in front of colleagues, according to Law Commentary. Another employee, a re-recording mixer, allegedly harassed her for years and warned that reporting him would jeopardize her career. Blizzard's audio director allegedly touched her leg without consent and retaliated by sabotaging her work and blocking a promotion after she rejected him. The complaint also describes a nonconsensual entry into her hotel room during a work trip to France, per HR Dive. Doe also raises wage claims, saying she was told to sign a meal-period waiver, underreport overtime and at times sleep at the office because of excessive hours. She said she was once paid $10 an hour while male colleagues doing similar work earned $18, a gap the company took more than six months to fix. How did Blizzard's HR department respond? Doe alleges she repeatedly reported the conduct to supervisors and HR but that the department was dismissive and hostile, and was itself "known to be close to the alleged harassers," HR Dive reported. She claims HR destroyed or withheld investigative records and retaliated against her and other women who raised similar concerns. Her complaints, she said, were handled in a perfunctory manner rather than kept confidential. What has Activision Blizzard said? A Blizzard spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times the company takes the allegations seriously and relies on policies meant to prevent and address harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and to hold employees accountable, according to Law Commentary. Activision Blizzard has denied wrongdoing. HR Dive reported the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new filing. How does this fit past settlements? California's Civil Rights Department sued Activision Blizzard in 2021 over sex discrimination and harassment claims, reaching a roughly $54.9 million settlement, Law Commentary reported. About $45.75 million went to women employed in California between October 2015 and December 2020. A separate 2022 federal settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created an $18 million fund for affected workers. Neither settlement found that Activision Blizzard maintained a systemic culture of harassment. Employers facing similar HR compliance scrutiny have also drawn government attention elsewhere, as with. Doe is seeking unspecified compensatory damages covering lost wages, benefits and diminished earning capacity. Her allegations have not been proven in court.

Activision Blizzard hit with new sexual assault, harassment claims in lawsuit. Male staff at video game publisher Activision Blizzard subjected a former female employee to multiple instances of sexual assault and harassment and failed to pay her for all hours worked, the plaintiff alleged in a lawsuit filed last week in the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County. The plaintiff in Doe v. Activision Blizzard, Inc., began working for the company's Blizzard division as a part time employee before transitioning to salaried roles. In one alleged incident, a male co-worker lured the plaintiff to his apartment, assaulted her and attempted rape. The plaintiff said she reported the conduct to her supervisor and HR but claimed that the co-worker faced no discipline and instead had been promoted. In all, the plaintiff alleged instances of sexual assault or harassment perpetrated by nine different male staffers and claimed to face "aggressive and hostile treatment" from another director-level male employee. The alleged conduct encompassed acts such as inappropriate touching, unwanted sexual advances and nonconsensual access of the plaintiff's hotel room during a trip to France. Despite repeated attempts to report the conduct to HR, Blizzard failed to take action, the plaintiff alleged. She further claimed that Blizzard's HR department had been dismissive and hostile towards her complaints and were even "known to be close to the alleged harassers." She similarly claimed that the department destroyed or withheld relevant investigative documents and retaliated against the plaintiff and other women who raised similar concerns. Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plaintiff also detailed wage-and-hour claims against Activision Blizzard, alleging that she was asked to sign a meal-period waiver and either underreport or not report overtime hours, was not paid for all hours worked and was required to work excessive and unsafe hours, which at times meant she had to sleep at her office. Activision Blizzard allegedly subjected the plaintiff to gender pay discrimination, too, at one point paying her $10 per hour while male colleagues earned $18 per hour. She claimed that this disparity took the company more than six months to correct. The plaintiff said the combined conduct led to her constructive discharge in 2024. "The continuous physical, mental, financial, and emotional abuse that Plaintiff suffered over fourteen and one-half years rendered her working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person in her position would have felt compelled to resign," according to the complaint. Activision Blizzard, which owns popular video game franchises such as "World of Warcraft" and "Overwatch," is just a short time removed from a multi-year legal saga alleging the existence of a widespread culture of sex- and gender-based discrimination. It began with the 2021 announcement of a lawsuit by California regulators, who claimed that Activision Blizzard maintained a "frat boy culture" in which female employees were routinely subjected to sexual harassment, some of which was perpetrated by company executives. Further allegations stated that women were frequently paid less than men despite performing similar work, and were assigned to lower-level jobs, promoted less frequently and fired or forced to quit more frequently than men. Observers who previously spoke to HR Dive surmised that Activision Blizzard's HR department may have sanctioned the conduct, noting that California's complaint claimed the function wasn't trusted or well-regarded within the company. Objections to the conduct were allegedly "treated in a perfunctory manner and not kept confidential," leading to retaliation against victims. Activision Blizzard eventually agreed to a $54 million settlement to bring an end to the California lawsuit on top of an earlier $18 million settlement and consent decree with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over alleged violation of federal employment laws. All the while, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in a deal valued at more than $75 billion. At the time, HR experts questioned how the technology giant would attempt to integrate the beleaguered publisher's culture into its own. Some who spoke to HR Dive said that rebuilding trust by eliminating organizational silos and identifying problematic leaders would be part of this process.