
Halo developer 343 Industries appears to making moves for its next major release. Following on from hints last month at an 'unannounced' project being in the works, the team has hired a brand-new art director to lead the series "into a very exciting new era".
The news comes from LinkedIn, where former Gears of War and Forza Motorsport art director Chris Matthews announced that he'd joined 343 Industries. Here's Matthews' announcement message in full:
"In a hugely turbulent industry it feels hard to celebrate the beginning of something new - but I am incredibly proud to join 343 Industries as Studio Art Director.
This was a culmination of over a decades work, learning and growth as an Art Director and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to help lead Halo into a very exciting new era."
That last bit has us very intrigued indeed - it sounds like there's a big shakeup going on with the Halo series right now and we're excited to see what's next. Remember, late last year we heard rumours that 343 was moving to Unreal Engine 5 with its next Halo campaign, which could certainly contribute to this "new era" for the franchise.
We'll keep our eyes and ears open in the coming months for any news on the next Halo - remember, it's already been over two years since the launch of Halo Infinite! In the meantime, it's rather nice to read about an "exciting new era" for an Xbox franchise amidst this week's uncertain news about the platform.
What would you like to see from a new era of Halo? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Comments 12
The Playstation era of Halo? 👀
Real talk though. Hopefully better than what we've got since Halo 4
Make Halo Great Again!!! I’ll be happy enough if i can move my constant replays of MCC over to PS and can play online
See Metroid Prime?
Do that, but Halo.
@Kaloudz
Infinite’s campaign was great for me and the spot on gun play and grappling hook.
They so should have expanded this world on Zeta Halo with campaign dlc etc. And let us explore the Halo ring.
Halo Infinite's campaign is one of the best in the whole genre and my favourite modern campaign along with Doom Eternal. Nope, I'm not a Halo fan and I think that 4 and 5 campaigns are awful, so I was really surprised when I played Halo Infinite.
More Halo? Yes please and thank you 😊.
I wish another developer, got a chance to make a Halo game.
I bet 90% of the people who complain about 4 never played it.
I mean sure but at the same time the future of Forza Motorsport from 5-7 annoyed me. Other trends haven't appealed to me.
Halo Wars 1 was fine but limited in areas so I quit playing when I got stuck on one level but it was fair just a very limited strategy game to do many things you'd want to. Not played Halo Wars 2, nor the isometric ones Spartan Assault or Strike. Or the Halo 4 Spartan OPs missions either.
If level design or so changes by all means. Mechanics get interesting hopefully, the grapple hook was a fine addition to Infinite but then again a grapple hook isn't anything new to games.
I just don't care for an open world Halo. People can want that I just can't get into them. I'm picky with open worlds due to the mission types having fun mechanics or the character moveset. Sunset Overdrive's tower defences, Infamous Second Son's spray paint and certain other ones. Darksiders 2's more hubs of dungeons and puzzles.
I'm very gameplay/platformer more so focused with open worlds, so generic quests and outposts don't interest me.
Which is yes a lot of open world games I know. XD There is a reason I wish Biomutant had more animal traits or character classes for example: digging, swimming, flying moveset options but it didn't. So in Space Station Silicon Valley an N64 game I can play whatever animals to get to the goals set by the game. Animal movesets can be so much more why so dumbed down.
If in Spiderman 2018 I had more fun doing the lab puzzles, the laser grid side mission or task master challenges then I did anything else in the entire game aka probably what 1-5% of the game there is a reason I didn't like it and didn't care for the story or visuals are fine but I mean I can do tower defence in Sunset Overdrive and had way more fun with the weapons in it. It's more Insomniac's DNA in it than Spiderman being a Spiderman game and yet the most generic done to death open world features I don't care to experience.
Like I don't care for Mario games but at least he doesn't control so realistic which sure for many games as a human sure makes sense but they are so heavy and the movesets I don't find fun, so if I don't find them fun to play why should I care about their character or their world to want to explore it.
Heavier than a vehicle in a racing game, that to me I just find them awkward and not fun to play let alone many basic attacks, quests and so on.
Splatoon has pretty ok city rooftop levels but the sponges, the ink and character moveset are simple but fun to stealth, travel and reload I have no issues with it as they balance the enemies/location out. Memorable locations no but fun to play the character yes.
I'd play an RPG if I wanted open worlds not action adventures or shooters and I don't play RPGs. I will tactics RPGs because the chess/board game approach to them just appeals to me more, they aren't open worlds and aren't corridors I find boring to play through (granted Disagea and Valkyria Chronicles just offer more compelling things in their board game style maps, geo panels can be whatever stat buffs/nerfs or so to avoid, so like any board game with damage or turn altering effects is fun to me, there is so many possibilities there besides just throwing characters or boxes across the map.
The other just balances the goals, sometimes it's a parachute bomb, others it's just enemy units, the terrain, others it's some other goal. Which for a game going for a 1930s war but anime setting and the class variety and what goals they set per map I find it fun. I mean it's no different to going well I may be up for capture the flag today, I might something else for another mission and that's just for a campaign no multiplayer, it could be Unreal Touranment 3 and just a playlist of modes as a singleplayer, I beat it and had fun.
It's that balance of goal variety, while Wargroove to me was a bit more tedious it's save the NPCs to other missions were fair, some with restricted characters are fun strategy to work around not the same thing and pushing story/samey gameplay after Chapter 4 that's boring Diofield Chronicle).
The small linear or wide spaces of past Halo games were fine enough for me. Multiplayer can be what it wants. I liked Halo ODST's atmosphere, and mission choices, I enjoy Halo 1.
Whatever angles of sci-fi locations or story telling they want to take Halo I'm interested, I don't have any preferences I didn't mind the Forerunners even if their weapons kind of sucked to use but were kind of cool design wise.
5 was so bad I didn't play it, I eventually did and was just like what is this. A fair refinement of 4 in terms of gameplay feel sure but that's about all I remember from it the rest is such a blur.
The area to talk to people was weird and confusing why it was even there and didn't do much of anything of worth for how new to Halo it was.
I mean to do the 2 character dynamic of Halo 2 but more awkward for how different it was. I don't know even then most levels were forgettable to me other than a small handful as Forerunner locations are forgettable and blend together and most organic ones I don't remember much either. I remember the city, but the rest is a blur.
halo reach had the best art and future direction that halo should’ve stayed on . 4 was fine but the artstyle and enemy types strayed too far from halo thematically imo. i never read the novels or any other mediums of the franchise so maybe the promethean type looking enemies have always been around, or maybe not. regardless since they’re looking to start anew they should take pointers from reach.
make halo more grounded and grit, i dont think a full on futuristic shooter is favorable in todays climate, it’s been done enough and it’s stale + people rather see their characters rather than have them in robot looking armor. So think of it like black ops 2 but halo in a way - i think that’s how halo should reboot .
oh, and also, keep sprint as basic movement . halo will never work as a no-sprint game again.
Glad to read a story about somebody being hired for a change. Keep 'em coming.
@Secryt "I bet 90% of the people who complain about 4 never played it."
I don't know. I just know about my experience:
https://www.purexbox.com/forums/xbox-series-x/now_playing_on_xbox_series_xs?start=520#reply-535
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