Halo 5 in Development by Former Creative Director of Tomb Raider Franchise
Former Tomb Raider creative director for Crystal Dynamics Tim Longo is now joining the Halo team at 343 Industries to work on the new game.
Longo was with Crystal Dynamics for five years in which he was integral to the reboot of the franchise and Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition for the Wii. The unofficial announcement came through an update on his LinkedIn account. After a stint for LucasArts he joined 343 in May, reported Polygon.
The Xbox One is the first of the three Microsoft consoles not to launch with a Halo series game.
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"A couple of years ago we had the discussion of: 'Should we do Halo at launch and not do Halo 4 last year?'" said corporate vice president Phil Spencer to Kotaku. "But I was committed to getting Halo 4 done last year, and there was no way we were going to turn around with 343 a full Halo game in a year. So that was the plan we set on. I feel good about that."
He goes on to say that 343 Industries, the developer that worked on the last Halo game, would have to start developing the game in 2010, and that was not feasible.
"A discussion around having a Halo game at launch, a true Halo at launch, meaning like a Halo 4 or 5-size game, would have been something we'd have had to start two or three years ago. We had the discussion, and we thought having Halo 4 come out when it came out from 343 and having them really land their first full version of Halo that they developed internally would be great for the 360 customers, great for 343 in shipping something," he said.
Before 343, Halo was made by Bungie Studios, so the companies were in transition. This was 343 Industries' first crack at getting a game that is beloved by millions right.
"Unlike some franchises that manage through 1,000 people, Halo is 343 and that team obviously has tight control. They are our Halo team," he explained.
Now Longo will help contribute to the creative force behind the new game.
