343 Has 'No Current Plans' For A New Halo Wars Game

Earlier this week, a job listing suggested that 343 Industries might be working on a new project set in the Halo universe.

At the time, there was some speculation it could be for a new Halo Wars game. 343's community manager John Junyszek shut this down rather quickly - confirming the role was tied to the upcoming release, Halo Infinite.

If you're still hoping to see Halo Wars make a return, you might be waiting a while. In the latest update on Halo Waypoint, Junyszek briefly acknowledged the fourth anniversary of Halo Wars 2 and addressed some burning questions about the future of the series.

At this point in time, there are no plans for further work on the 2017 release, Halo Wars 2. In addition to this, 343 has "no current plans" to port the game to other systems or release a new game in the series.

"343 Industries has no current plans for further Halo Wars 2 work including content updates, balance patches, bringing the title to other platforms, or a new game in the series. We will, however, continue to monitor the game and ensure everything is working as expected."

This, of course, doesn't rule out a new entry in the future, but at this point in time, there is nothing planned.

"Yes, we did use the word “currently” because it’s the truth – as of today, there is no plan for the development team to re-engage with Halo Wars 2 and we aren’t working on a new game in the series at this time. But, we’re specifically never going to say never because, well, who knows what the future may bring."

"So we hope this clarity helps alleviate some of that and we want to set clear expectations that there is no work happening on Halo Wars."

So, why is there nothing happening with the Halo Wars series right now? It comes down to the fact that there's only a finite amount of time, resources and focus available on 343's end. Right now, the majority of focus is obviously going into Halo Infinite's upcoming launch.

"The majority of the studio is incredibly focused working towards Halo Infinite’s launch (and you may have also heard, “launch is only the beginning”). Given the broader impact initiatives the studio is already committed to, we unfortunately can’t devote the time and attention we’d need to deliver additional updates and content for the Halo Wars franchise."

The most recent update for Halo Wars 2 arrived in August 2020. So, there you go - 343 is pretty much done with Halo Wars 2 and has no current plans for a follow-up due to its focus on Infinite. What are your own thoughts about this? Tell us down below.