MTV Multiplayer's Patrick Klepek has collected circumstantial evidence that points to one conclusion: Microsoft may be working on Halo: Chronicles -- the episodic Halo game being overseen by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson -- independent of long-time Halo developer Bungie.
Here are the facts:
- Microsoft is looking for quite a few individuals to work on a new Halo game -- in all, they want not only a trifecta of engineers, but a producer and creative director as well.
- The postings are all for their Redmond, Washington location.
- There's no mention of Bungie anywhere -- it's all about the "Microsoft Game Studios’ Halo team" instead.
So why Peter Jackson? MTV Multiplayer explains:
Cleverly disguised language in the job postings point us in Mr. Jackson’s direction.
According to the job listings, Microsoft wants a Creative Director for this new “Halo.” But it doesn’t seem a completely new endeavor; one of the bragging rights for the Creative Director is to “partner with key Hollywood talent to collaboratively craft a masterful game experience” and [emphasis added] “collaborate with game play designers, story writers, game writers, and said external luminary to deliver on a unique game in the Halo universe.”
Hmm, who could that be?
Microsoft has kept their collaboration with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson very quiet. Bungie has mentioned their involvement with the supposedly episodic project — codenamed “Halo: Chronicles” — but never said they were developing it. The job postings’ omission of the word Bungie could indicate the studio isn’t involved in whatever this new project is.
Since Bungie is currently struggling with Microsoft for the attention of Halo fans since the two companies' separation, it's not too surprising that Microsoft would choose to build a separate development team; but last we'd heard (from an interview by, oddly enough, the very same Patrick Klepek) Bungie was most definitely working on Halo: Chronicles. Has something changed since October, or is this an entirely new Halo game?
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