Halo 5 Development

Many gamers are still enjoying the recently released Halo 4, and it's hard to think about what is next for the immensely popular franchise. The ending of the latest game left players wondering what will happen next, and the community has been abuzz with possibilities for the fifth iteration, but no one is entirely sure where the franchise will go. 343 Industries, on the other hand, has clear goals for the future, so they've already begun work on the next Halo title.

343's very own Frank O'Connor, the franchise development director behind Halo, recently spoke with CVG about the future of the series, and confirmed that his team has already begun working on their next project. In fact, they began work on the next Halo game before the latest title even shipped. Since Halo 4's release, the staff has been cycling vacations in order to keep development constantly flowing, and it sounds like fans have a lot to look forward to in the near future.

"A lot of people at 343 are already prototyping ideas and software and art for future Halo products. I can't say more than that, but work on the game started actually before we launched Halo 4 and continues apace as we cycle staff through the team's vacation breaks. We're excited about the next game."

Many fans will immediately assume that 343's next Halo game will be Halo 5. That much seems obvious, given the fact that Microsoft has already announced that Halo 4 is the beginning of the new Reclaimer Trilogy, but O'Connor didn't confirm that Halo 5 is indeed the game his team is working on. It's widely known that Microsoft has a 10 year plan for Halo, and there's a possibility that 343 Industries may even be revving up for work on a Halo 2 remake.

Despite speculation pertaining to what is next for the established property, some gamers are more focused on what is currently in front of them. The first Halo 4 downloadable content pack will be arriving later this month (December 10th, to be precise), and Season 1 of Spartan Ops is officially at the halfway point. Some fans are probably wondering if there will be more episodic installments after the current wave has run its course, but O'Connor is still waiting to see how the current season performs.

"Spartan Ops season 2 is yet to be decided, we're looking at how the first season does. We got such great responses from Forward Unto Dawn and Spartan Ops that we're pretty happy with it and we're learning a lot of really interesting stuff for the future. You are going to see a spectrum of Halo support though the next year and beyond."

Whether the next Halo will land on the Xbox 720 or Xbox 360 may be the most intriguing question about 343's current project, though it's a safe bet that the franchise will make the transition to next-gen when the time comes. For now, gamers can look forward to a ton of additional content arriving for Halo 4 in the not too distant future.

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You can follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.

Source: CVG