You really thought Halo 3 wrapped up the franchise?
The Los Angeles Times is reporting a new division of Microsoft dubbed 343 Industries is tasked with all things that make up the Halo universe, including a new anime series that will hit DVD, Blu-Ray and Xbox Live in 2010.
And unlike previous video game/Hollywood “collaborations,” this one seems like an actual collaboration. From the Los Angeles Times:
Microsoft gave the production companies largely free reign in how the shorts looked, but [343 Industries creative director Frank] O’Connor and others were heavily involved in developing the stories and making sure all the details were right.
“Depending on the studio, we did everything from writing the stories to feeding them with characters and scenarios they could explore,” he said.
Halo isn’t going the short films route alone, with Assassin’s Creed II: Lineage debuting later this year as three live action films that run ten to 15 minutes long. Ubisoft has high hopes this will increase excitement for one of their big holiday titles, and we’re interested to see how many other publishers follow suit.
[Full Los Angeles Times article]