343 Hires New Art Director To Lead 'A Very Exciting New Era' For Halo

Halo developer 343 Industries appears to making moves for its next major release. Following on from hints last month at an 'unannounced' project being in the works, the team has hired a brand-new art director to lead the series "into a very exciting new era".

The news comes from LinkedIn, where former Gears of War and Forza Motorsport art director Chris Matthews announced that he'd joined 343 Industries. Here's Matthews' announcement message in full:

"In a hugely turbulent industry it feels hard to celebrate the beginning of something new - but I am incredibly proud to join 343 Industries as Studio Art Director.

This was a culmination of over a decades work, learning and growth as an Art Director and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to help lead Halo into a very exciting new era."

That last bit has us very intrigued indeed - it sounds like there's a big shakeup going on with the Halo series right now and we're excited to see what's next. Remember, late last year we heard rumours that 343 was moving to Unreal Engine 5 with its next Halo campaign, which could certainly contribute to this "new era" for the franchise.

We'll keep our eyes and ears open in the coming months for any news on the next Halo - remember, it's already been over two years since the launch of Halo Infinite! In the meantime, it's rather nice to read about an "exciting new era" for an Xbox franchise amidst this week's uncertain news about the platform.

What would you like to see from a new era of Halo? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.