Halo Studios Reportedly Cancels New Multiplayer Project

A brand new Halo multiplayer game has been scrapped, according to sources. Popular Halo YouTuber Rebs Gaming reported that a new multiplayer project set in the beloved sci-fi universe was recently canceled. Windows Central's Jez Corden backed up the report, stating the news was "100% true."

The game, codenamed 'Ekur,' was being developed by Certain Affinity, a studio known for support work on previous Halo and Call of Duty titles. Its origins trace back to a different project called 'Tatanka,' which was a battle royale-style Halo game. That was scrapped in favor of Ekur, described as a "super big team battle idea" drawing from Halo's history of large-scale multiplayer modes. Halo 5's Warzone mode served as inspiration, and the team also experimented with an extraction mode. The project would have used the map built for Tatanka and was developed in Unreal Engine, similar to the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved remake.

It's unclear whether the goal was to create a multiplayer Halo game with broader appeal after Halo Infinite struggled to maintain a consistent audience, or if it would have been a premium title. Regardless, the project reportedly ended due to development troubles on Campaign Evolved, which pulled staff away from the multiplayer project. Whether this game will ever see the light of day remains uncertain. It could be revived, especially as Microsoft seeks to revitalize its biggest franchises. It doesn't appear to have been canceled due to the recent Xbox restructuring, so hopefully it can find its way back.

Although Halo Infinite's servers remain active, its player base is not very lively. It's hard to imagine Microsoft keeping Halo's multiplayer sidelined for long, especially with a new Xbox console on the horizon. Campaign Evolved is a single-player game with co-op options, but those craving competitive PvP multiplayer will have to wait.