Is there life after Kojima Productions? It was revealed late last month that Ryan Payton had left the MGS4 team to head back to the US... And now, we hear that he might have already been hired! Good for him, yes? Now, if current rumors prove true, Payton might be working with Peter Jackson on an upcoming Halo game. Guess the fight's not finished yet, eh?

Despite Bungie Studios pulling a no show during the recent E3 event, Microsoft's Don Mattrick still had some good news for expectant fans. In an interview conducted by MTV News last Tuesday, the Microsoft head of Xbox business confirmed that Bungie was indeed working on a new Halo game for everyone. Find out more about the brand new Halo title in our full article after the jump.

It's always sad to see people go. The case doesn't appear to be any different for Bungie Studios' Frank O'Connor, who's making plans to leave the studio to work at Microsoft. That aside, O'Connor's farewell letter also hinted that just what sort of project he's signing on to, which has much to do with Bungie's Halo franchise. More details on this matter are available in the full article.

EGM is stirring it up again with a bunch of hot new rumors from Quartermann. Looks like we're in for a pretty sweet season: Quartermann's latest gossip includes word on a Halo spin-off coming late next year, a Grand Theft Auto MMO, and a whole lot more. Rumors galore in the full article!

While the name Peter Jackson was once associated with the long- buried Halo movie project, a new project involving the renowned Hollywood director has once again surfaced. Microsoft is currently assembling a team willing to "help develop a new experience in the Halo universe". Find out more about this in our full article after the jump.

Despite Fox and Universal's pullout, it seems that work still continues on the much-awaited Halo film by Microsoft. This much was picked up during an inquiry with Peter Jackson's representative Ken Kamins, who states that MS was currently in the middle of talks with other distribution projects to continue the film.

Kamins further stated that the Halo movie's pre-production was moving along thanks to exec producers Jackson and (Fran) Walsh. The pair are reportedly having the film's pre-prod visual effects done at their studios in New Zealand, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop. Kamins also shed some light on the transaction that caused Universal and Fox's pullout:

What happened was this: Universal, on behalf of both studios, asked for a meeting with the filmmakers just prior to the due date of a significant payment. Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals. They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie, respectfully declined.

Look on the bright side - at least we know the film hasn't been completely scrapped. We'll let you know if any related info gets picked up in the near future.

Aside from the rumored Animal Crossing Wii MMO, the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) hinted that there's a possibility Bungie Studios is working on a Halo MMO for the Xbox 360. According to the gaming magazine's Rumor Mill section:

Microsoft may start a war--word is they're making a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter for 360. Hmm, wonder what Bungie is up to?

While not explicitly stated, it's entirely possible that this rumored Bungie MMO is actually Peter Jackson's secret Halo project, the details of which - including genre -  have not yet been revealed. Also, it should be noted that Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said earlier this month that both Bungie and Microsoft are investing in a new "interactive" series set in Halo.

As always, this is just a rumor so don't get your hopes up too much. Do check this space often for more updates!

Some of you may remember the series of short Halo films made by Neill Blomkamp to promote the well-known series by Bungie Studios. There was even talk about having him direct an actual full length feature set in the Halo universe, but with the decision to drop the project, the Halo movie fans were anticipating for a long-time has brought to a screeching halt.

In an interview with the man himself, Blomkamp talks about the demise of the proposed film and what he's been doing since then. The idea of a mythological space war has always fascinated him and he wanted to bring a more realistic approach to the science fiction involved with the idea of a Halo movie.

It was rather unfortunate that the two studios involved, Universal and Fox, weren't getting along with the processes in creating the film. However, Blomkamp has since then moved on in setting up his own project in Wellington, New Zealand. When asked what he felt after the decision to drop the film, he had this to say:

What happened once it collapsed is it made me turn inward and figure out what exactly I felt like doing. In other words, That film is gone, what do I feel like doing? And I realized what I felt like doing pretty quickly, like within thirty seconds. And promptly moved on to that. So you're right, I guess if the film collapsed and I was hell-bent on wanting to do whatever I could to try and get it back up I probably would have done something different than what I did, but I moved in a different direction, and no one knows what that is because I've never spoken about it before, and it's taken eight months or ten months to get to where it is now, sooner or later I'll start revealing in piece what I've been doing.

So far he's been pretty tight-lipped about the new project he's working on, but he assures everyone that given a few months they'll be able to take a peek at what's been keeping his attention since then. For fans who are still interested in seeing a Halo movie brought to life, not to worry. The highly-acclaimed director, Peter Jackson, is still working in collaboration with Bungie in a future project set in the Halo universe. So, who knows? Master Chief just might be coming to a theater near you someday.

It's official: Bungie Studios and Microsoft are parting ways. A press release from Microsoft announced today that Bungie Studios will be embarking on a path to become an independent company. This confirms earlier rumors of the Bungie-Microsoft split.

Microsoft will still retain an equity interest in the studio. Microsoft Game Studios and Bungie will be continuing their publishing agreement for the Halo IP as well as other future Bungie projects. According to Bungie studio head Harold Ryan, the studio will continue to focus primarily on video game development for Microsoft platforms.

Shane Kim, Microsoft Game Studios' corporate vice president, also assured people that they will continue to invest in "a new interactive series set in the Halo universe" with Bungie and other partners including director Peter Jackson.

Over here at the QJ offices, we're not sure whether we should be jealous or angry. Jealous because a Bungie dev got to drive the actual warthog made by the folks at WETA. Angry because the said developer managed to scratch the beautiful warthog against a wooden shed.

That's right folks. We've got video today that should be rather exciting, because some Bungie developers got the chance to drive the well-known Warthog we covered earlier in July. According to Bungie Studios' Weekly Update, the devs were in New Zealand to help Peter Jackson on the Halo project, and managed to spend some time at WETA as well, driving their souped up buggy.

Of course, being developers (and not stunt drivers), one of the devs managed to mess up the paint job by hitting a wood shed while taking it out for a spin, but he still counts as one of the most awesome people in the world, if only because he drove a gamer's dream car.

In related news, Bungie Studios is reminding gamers to steer clear of player profiles to avoid spoilers because, as they say, certain people "could LITERALLY have the final frame of the game as a screenshot on their file share." For these and other Bungie updates, feel free to check the readlink below.