Microsoft"s next Halo game from developer 343 Industries is due for release before the end of 2014 and today the company released a new teaser art concept image of the game that"s currently under development for the Xbox One console.
The art image was posted on the official Halo Waypoint blog today, along with a description that said it was "... an early exploration of a new location that features prominently in a little game project we’re tinkering with…." The blog also offered information on some recent changes to the 343 Industries team, including word that its Art Director Kenneth Scott has departed to be with his family in California, although he will keep working for the Halo team remotely as a Visual Design Consultant. Nicolas “Sparth” Bouvier, who created the teaser image in the blog, is the team"s new Art Director.
As if that were not enough, GeekWire has confirmed with Microsoft that a long time Halo developer has returned to Microsoft. Joe Staten, who joined Halo creator Bungie in 1998, was the co-writer for all of the developer"s Halo games, both under the ownership of Microsoft and later as an independent team.
Staten worked as the lead writer for Bungie"s next game, the highly anticipated Destiny, but departed the team in September. Today, Microsoft told GeekWire that Staten will now be working on "franchise strategy for Microsoft Studios titles" along with being an overall ambassador for game development on Microsoft platforms. While there"s no word if Staten will have a hand in the next Halo game for the Xbox One, we would be surprised if he was not involved in some way.