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It's been a few weeks since Halo: Campaign Evolved launched to a generally positive, but somewhat mixed reception - mostly attributed to its troubled development and lack of multiplayer. Now, the rumour mill has spun up claims that Microsoft is exploring plans to outsource parts of Halo's future development to Activision.
Halo journalist Mr Rebs recently posted a short video detailing some of the supposed production issues faced by Halo Studios. Mostly, how the co-development of Halo: Campaign Evolved with 15 other studios was reportedly mismanaged.
The journalist moves on with claims that his insider source who worked on Campaign Evolved told him that "Microsoft is exploring a proposition to have Activision help develop Halo Games", and that Call of Duty developer, Sledgehammer Games has already pitched a "Halo multiplayer game".
In the video above, It's mentioned that Activision started testing a Halo prototype, and that the build made it to the blockout phase where "basic gameplay mechanics" and "player movement" were being tested. The source suggests that Microsoft decided not to greenlight Sledgehammer's prototype pitch in July, but is still said to be "exploring the proposition" with Activision.
You see, it's not the first time we've heard this rumour. In fact, Windows Central's Jez Corden said something similar, that Microsoft "might put Halo under Activision" although he didn't believe it to be true.
Activision Blizzard is, of course, part of Xbox Studios following its acquisition back in 2023, so it's not a huge leap in imagination to suggest that Call of Duty teams could be brought in to work on Halo in some capacity.
That said, it's definitely worth mentioning all of this is still very much a bunch of gossip, so take what you've read with a pinch of salt.