Microsoft staffer and ex-Bungie community manager Frank O'Connor has been appointed as creative director for 343 Industries, a new division that will oversee all Halo products.
"If you look at how George Lucas held on to Star Wars not just to make money from action figures but to control the direction the universe went in, you can see why we think it's pretty vital," O'Connor told the LA Times. "Luckily, Microsoft has the resources to enable us to do that."
In a subsequent press release, Microsoft said: “343 Industries is the publisher of the blockbuster Halo series of videogames and, as part of Microsoft Game Studios, oversees the Halo franchise, including novels, comics, licensed collectibles, apparel and more. 343 Industries is home to world-class developers working on future Halo projects, including Halo Legends and Halo Waypoint, as well as partnering with renowned developers such as Bungie LLC and Robot Entertainment to produce Halo games for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live."
The division will be producing seven short anime films set in the Halo universe, collectively titled Halo Legends. Physical animation for the movies is being done in Japan, but will be approved by creative staff at 343 Industries.
Announced at Comic-Con, the shorts are due to start rolling out on Xbox Live this autumn through a new section of the online service called Halo Waypoint. The platform holder described it as a "destination for Halo fans on Xbox Live around the world." Waypoint will feature Halo news, activities, podcasts, trailers, screenshots and exclusive video footage, plus a "career system" and player rankings tied to both in-game and out-of-game Halo accomplishments.
The Halo anime films will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray early next year.