343 Industries

343 Industries
Subsidiary of Microsoft Studios
Industry Computer and video games
Interactive entertainment
Founded 2009
Headquarters Redmond, Washington, United States
Key people
 Frank O'Connor (franchise director)
Bonnie Ross (general manager)
Products Halo series (2011–)
Owner Microsoft
Parent Microsoft Studios
Website www.halowaypoint.com

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 2009 by Microsoft Studios to oversee the development of the Halo science fiction media franchise following a split between Microsoft and Bungie in 2007. 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 2016.

History

Formation

In July 2009, Microsoft filed for the name 343 Industries for its new Halo development studio,[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) GameRankings Metacritic Notes
2011 Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary[13] Xbox 360 81.92%[14] 82/100[15]
2012 Halo 4[16] 87.61%[17] 87/100[18]
2013 Halo: Spartan Assault[19] Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox One, Xbox 360, iOS 68.79%[20] 70/100[21]
2014 Halo: The Master Chief Collection[22] Xbox One 85.23%[23] 85/100[24]
2015 Halo: Spartan Strike[25] iOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows Phone 70.00%[26] 66/100[27]
Halo 5: Guardians[28] Xbox One 84.21%[29] 84/100[30]
2016 Halo Wars 2 Microsoft Windows, Xbox One TBA TBA Collaborated development with Creative Assembly

References

  1. ↑ Orry, James (July 21, 2009). "Is 343 Industries Microsoft's Halo studio?". Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Milian, Mark (May 11, 2011). "Halo' and creators move on after divorce". CNN. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ Romano, Benjamin (October 6, 2007). "Microsoft, "Halo" maker Bungie split". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  4. ↑ Thorsen, Tor (July 20, 2009). "Microsoft names internal Halo label?". Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ Vore, Bryan (November 2011). "Taking Over 'Halo'". Game Informer 11 (223): 28–33. ISSN 1067-6392.
  6. ↑ "Halo: Reach Will Be Bungie's Last Halo Game". IGN. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  7. ↑ Norris, Erik (July 23, 2009). "Halo Anime In The Works". Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  8. ↑ McWhertor, Michael. "Comic-Con 09". kotaku.com. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ Mallory, Jordan (March 29, 2013). "What went wrong with Halo 4's Prometheans". Engadget. AOL.
  11. ↑ "Reclaimer Saga". IGN. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Mega Brands and Microsoft Game Studios Renew Global Licensing Partnership". Electronics Business Journal. June 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Microsoft leaks details about next Halo game". VentureBeat. June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Microsoft E3 landing page leaks Kinect upgrades, Halo 4 news". Digital Trends. June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Halo 4 Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Halo 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Halo: Spartan Assault Halo Official Site". Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Halo: Spartan Assault Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Halo: Spartan Assault Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Halo the Master Chief Collection". Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Halo: The Master Chief Collection Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Halo: The Master Chief Collection Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Halo: Spartan Strike Comes to Windows 8 Devices and Steam this December". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. October 16, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Halo: Spartan Strike Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Halo: Spartan Strike Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  28. ↑ "The Halo Journey". Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Halo 5: Guardians Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Halo 5: Guardians Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 7, 2016.

External links

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