Halo Studios cut to small team as Xbox moves Halo to Activision

Halo's long-time studio has been reduced to a small support team, with future work on the series moving outside its original home.

Xbox confirmed on 22 September 2026 that it would eliminate 268 roles across Halo Studios, other studios it owns, and management layers. The announcement came in an Xbox Wire post titled "Continuing Our Reset" Xbox Wire. Most of those roles were at Halo Studios.

Major development on Halo will now sit with Activision, the maker of Call of Duty. Microsoft has created a purpose-built team there, separate from Call of Duty, to develop the next Halo title Eurogamer.

Halo Studios was formerly called 343 Industries. The studio was created in 2007 after Halo creator Bungie bought back its independence, and it developed or oversaw every Halo game since Halo: Reach in 2010. It later rebranded as Halo Studios.

The cuts came shortly after the studio released Halo: Campaign Evolved Game File. Xbox has not detailed what support work the remaining Halo Studios team will handle.

Former leaders spoke publicly after the news. Bonnie Ross, founder of 343 Industries and its former head, said the Halo studio is essentially being shut down with only a small number of roles remaining. Kiki Wolfkill, who led Halo transmedia and entertainment work at 343 Industries, said she was gutted to hear about the layoffs at Halo Studios and across Xbox. Both expressed support for affected staff.

Halo Studios cinematic director Josh Daniels said he was promoted and laid off in the same week.

The September cuts are part of a wider reset that Xbox began in July 2026. That month Xbox announced approximately 1,600 role eliminations and said four studios would leave Xbox for new management. As part of the same reset, Xbox divested Undead Labs and consolidated several of its game studios under Activision Bloomberg.

Xbox is operating under chief executive Asha Sharma. The division had signalled further change in June 2026, when it was planning major job cuts for the following month as part of an overhaul led by Sharma. The cuts also follow earlier rounds, including 10,000 job losses across Microsoft in January 2023 affecting gaming teams behind Halo and Starfield, and deep Xbox cuts in July 2025 that cancelled the upcoming Perfect Dark and Everwild.

For fans, this means Halo continues, but not where it was made for the past 15 years. The name on the box changes. The work moves to a new team.