343 Industries
 | |
| Subsidiary of Microsoft Studios | |
| Industry |
Computer and video games Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Redmond, Washington, United States |
Key people |
Frank O'Connor (franchise director) Bonnie Ross (general manager) |
| Products | Halo series |
| Owner | Microsoft |
Number of employees | 450 (2016)[1] |
| Parent | Microsoft Studios |
| Website |
www |
343 Industries (abbreviated to 343i) is an American video game developer located in Redmond, Washington. Named after the Halo character 343 Guilty Spark, the company was established in 2007 by Microsoft Studios to oversee the development of the Halo science fiction media franchise following a split between Microsoft and Bungie. Halo 4 was the first title released by 343 Industries in which they played a lead development role. Upcoming releases from the company include Halo Wars 2 in 2017.
History
Formation
343 Industries was founded in 2007,[1] after the former Halo studio, Bungie, separated from Microsoft.[2][3] It was named after Halo character 343 Guilty Spark.[2][4][5] Bungie continued making Halo games until Halo: Reach in 2010.[6]
Development
In July 2009, it was announced that 343 Industries was working on a seven-part Halo anime series called Halo Legends.[7] Later that year the studio created Halo Waypoint, a downloadable application that tracks a user's Halo accomplishments.[8] 343i also increased staff for Halo development, recruiting 20 staff from the now defunct Pandemic Studios.[9] 343i also developed Halo: Reach's second and third map packs, entitled "Defiant" and "Anniversary" respectively, in conjunction with Certain Affinity. The company was responsible for the HD port of Halo: Combat Evolved, titled Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, which was released on November 15, 2011, to celebrate the 10th year since the release of first franchise installment on November 15, 2001.
Following Bungie's departure from Microsoft in 2007, 343 Industries was eventually given complete control of the Halo franchise including servers and data on March 31, 2012. The studio's development of Halo 4, which began in 2009, was completed ahead of schedule the same year in September.[10] It was released on November 6, 2012, as the first title of a new Halo Reclaimer Trilogy which will include at least two more installments over the years. At E3 2013, Microsoft and 343i announced the next "Halo" installment set for release on the Xbox One. Shortly after the announcement, the Reclaimer Trilogy was confirmed by Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer to be expanded into a Reclaimer Saga.[11] The following year at E3 2014, the official title was revealed as "Halo 5: Guardians" along with plans for its release on October 27, 2015. Microsoft, in a contract with Mega Bloks, is in conjunction with 343i to manufacture a new line of toys and other memorabilia for the upcoming Halo saga.[12] Halo 5: Guardians was released on October 27, 2015, with semi-exclusive content to those who purchased select Mega Bloks sets. 343 Industries has since released free monthly content updates since Halo 5's launch.
Games developed
| Year | Game | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary[13] | Xbox 360 | |
| 2012 | Halo 4[14] | ||
| 2013 | Halo: Spartan Assault[15] | Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone, iOS, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Collaboration with Vanguard Games |
| 2014 | Halo: The Master Chief Collection[16] | Xbox One | |
| 2015 | Halo: Spartan Strike[17] | Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone, iOS | Collaboration with Vanguard Games |
| Halo 5: Guardians[18] | Xbox One | ||
| 2017 | Halo Wars 2 | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One | Collaboration with Creative Assembly |
References
- 1 2 Smith, Edward (2016). "Studio Profile: 343 Industries". Edge. No. 300. Future Publishing. pp. 94–97.
- 1 2 Milian, Mark (May 11, 2011). "Halo' and creators move on after divorce". CNN. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
- ↑ Romano, Benjamin (October 6, 2007). "Microsoft, "Halo" maker Bungie split". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ↑ Thorsen, Tor (July 20, 2009). "Microsoft names internal Halo label?". Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- ↑ Vore, Bryan (November 2011). "Taking Over 'Halo'". Game Informer. 11 (223): 28–33. ISSN 1067-6392.
- ↑ "Halo: Reach Will Be Bungie's Last Halo Game". IGN. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
- ↑ Norris, Erik (July 23, 2009). "Halo Anime In The Works". Retrieved January 5, 2013.
- ↑ McWhertor, Michael. "Comic-Con 09". kotaku.com. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ↑ "Microsoft hires ex-Pandemic members for new Halo game". gamer.blorge.com. November 21, 2010. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ↑ Mallory, Jordan (March 29, 2013). "What went wrong with Halo 4's Prometheans". Engadget. AOL.
- ↑ "Reclaimer Saga". IGN. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
- ↑ "Mega Brands and Microsoft Game Studios Renew Global Licensing Partnership". Electronics Business Journal. June 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
- ↑ "Microsoft leaks details about next Halo game". VentureBeat. June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Microsoft E3 landing page leaks Kinect upgrades, Halo 4 news". Digital Trends. June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Halo: Spartan Assault Halo Official Site". Retrieved June 9, 2013.
- ↑ "Halo the Master Chief Collection". Retrieved June 10, 2014.
- ↑ "Halo: Spartan Strike Comes to Windows 8 Devices and Steam this December". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. October 16, 2014.
- ↑ "The Halo Journey". Retrieved May 16, 2014.