Former Halo Creative Director Urges Activision to Hire Laid-Off Bungie and Halo Developers

Former Halo franchise creative director Frank O'Connor has urged Activision to recruit developers recently laid off from Bungie, Halo Studios and other teams as it assembles the group responsible for the series' next game.

O'Connor made the suggestion while discussing Microsoft's decision to move development of the next Halo title to a new purpose-built team within Activision. Microsoft announced the change alongside another round of Xbox restructuring that eliminated 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios and central teams.

Responding on September 25 to a LinkedIn discussion about Activision taking on Halo, O'Connor argued that Microsoft now has an opportunity to reconnect the franchise with developers who already understand it.

His advice to Activision was to hire former Bungie and Halo Studios employees, along with other laid-off developers who he said are "bursting" with talent and ideas that had previously been reduced or abandoned.

The timing gives that suggestion additional weight. Microsoft's September restructuring left Halo Studios with a smaller team focused on supporting existing Halo games and their communities, while responsibility for the next mainline project moved to Activision.

Bungie has also recently lost experienced developers. Sony announced significant cuts at the studio in June, affecting most of the Destiny team and some employees working on Marathon. O'Connor did not identify specific developers Activision should recruit, and Microsoft has not announced the makeup or leadership of its new Halo team.

Microsoft confirmed on September 22 that Activision will develop the next Halo through a purpose-built team that is separate from its existing Call of Duty development plans.

That distinction is important because Microsoft has not simply assigned the franchise to one of Activision's established Call of Duty studios. The company is creating a new team specifically for Halo, giving it an opportunity to draw from developers with experience both inside and outside the franchise.

O'Connor's suggestion centers on using that hiring process to retain knowledge that might otherwise leave the series entirely. Bungie created Halo and continued developing the series after becoming independent from Microsoft in 2007, with Halo: Reach becoming its final entry. 343 Industries later took responsibility for the franchise before being renamed Halo Studios.

The next project therefore marks another major development transition, with responsibility moving from Halo Studios to a new purpose-built Activision team within Microsoft.

O'Connor also offered broader advice about what the new team should preserve, arguing that Activision should not abandon the sandbox design that has defined Halo.

He outlined several possible directions for the series, ranging from a more traditional Halo shooter to a larger reinvention, but presented them as possibilities rather than information about Activision's actual plans. His firmer advice was to avoid forcing the project around a hardware or service launch and to make sure the series' sandbox remains central regardless of the format Activision chooses.

Microsoft has not revealed a release date, platforms or creative direction for the next Halo. For now, the confirmed change is organizational, with Activision assembling a new dedicated team while O'Connor argues that recently displaced Bungie and Halo Studios talent should be among the people it considers hiring.