There seems to have been some strong rumours going around recently suggesting that Xbox studio 343 Industries was moving towards an 'overseer' role for future Halo games - hinting that they'd no longer be the series' core developer. Well, a number of sources have now come out to shut down those rumours, including a comment from 343's own community manager.
As you can see down below, 343 community manager John Junyszek has responded to Jez Corden's rumour shutdown on social media. Junyszek says that the noise around Halo has "always been wild out there", while Corden categorically says that the rumours are "false".
Elsewhere, a Halo Infinite leaks account has also supported the denial of these rumours. The page, which gathers up Halo news and has a decent online following, says that it doesn't know "why anyone believed 343i would become more of a 'publisher' role" for the future of Halo - adding that the team "will be the primary dev on main line Halo titles going forward".
In recent months, we've had various hints that 343 is well on its way towards building a new Halo game. One former 343 dev was found to have been working on an unannounced Halo project between April 2022 and March 2023 before they left, while a new art director joined the team earlier this year to lead "a very exciting new era" for the Halo franchise.