Earlier this week, Microsoft gave us a peek at the future of Xbox, with trailers and gameplay for titles like Starfield, Avowed, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Many of those games were quite well-received, but some also noted a lack of franchises that have traditionally carried to Xbox brand. Sure, games like Forza Motorsport and Fable were shown, but we didn’t see anything from the Gears and Halo franchises. The latter was particularly puzzling, as 2021’s Halo Infinite is a live service game that’s still being supported with new content, so many were expecting at least some sort of update.

　　Well, in a new interview with The Guardian, Xbox boss Phil Spencer says we should maybe expect to see less of series like Halo and Gears going forward, as the company doesn’t need to rely on them as much anymore.

　　“I wouldn’t say Halo is of lesser importance, but we have over 20 studios now. I’ll go back to the years where I had basically four games – Fable, Forza, Halo, Gears, the four horseman of the apocalypse. We have a lot more games now.”

　　Of course, the unspoken is that Halo Infinite’s development was rather troubled and the game’s live-service support has failed to live up to expectations. Developer 343 Industries has been hit with resignations and layoffs, but according to Xbox Games Studio boss Matt Booty, they’ll continue to guide the series under new leader Pierre Hintze (who spearheaded the successful salvaging of Halo The Master Chief Collection). That said, Booty also made it clear, in a very diplomatic way, that the 343 house clearing has been intentional and they’re looking to move ahead with a new leadership team…

　　“I feel confident in the leadership team, but the team that got us here is probably not the same team that's going to take us forward.”

　　So, when can we expect the next Halo game? Booty was noncommittal when asked if a new game was in development, while Spencer vaguely promised “pretty cool things” are in the works.

　　“We’ve been pretty public about the leadership change at 343. You can kind of see that in some of the social things [the team have] been doing around seasons, but I don’t wanna force them to talk about their longer-term vision until they’re ready. I think you’ll see some pretty cool things coming.”

　　While Microsoft isn’t talking openly about it, well-sourced rumors have stated that Texas-based developer Certain Affinity is working on some sort of larger-scale Halo multiplayer experience (likely a battle royale or Tarkov-style extraction shooter).

　　Halo Infinite can be played on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The game’s fourth season of content launches next week (June 20).