MS ready to make the most out of Master Chief

Halo Wars screenshot

More than three teams building Halo "things", according to Microsoft.

Speaking in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Game Studios, said that "some of them we will own, some of them we won't".

Halo is one of the most successful video game brands of this and the last generation. Halo 3, released in September last year, has proved to be a phenomenal success. In January the company confirmed it had sold 8.1 million copies. Spencer's comments suggest Microsoft is ready to exploit the brand in an unprecedented manner.

Only two Halo games are confirmed to be in existence - an unnamed Peter Jackson Halo project and 360 exclusive RTS Halo Wars from Ensemble Studios, which is due out next year.

Last month Corrinne Yu, director of technology at Gearbox Software, the developer behind the Brothers in Arms series, accepted the position of principle (lead) engine architect of Halo Franchise Team at Microsoft.

And there have been strong rumours that Gearbox is to develop Halo 4, following previously Microsoft-owned Bungie's return to independent status.

While Spencer's comments do not necessarily suggest more than three Halo games are in the works, given that more than one team could be working on the same project, they do suggest that Microsoft is ready to make the most out of Master Chief and co.