Jackson's Wingnut studio still working on original properties
Halo Chronicles canned by Microsoft as part of budget cuts; but studio that was creating it is still operating
The studio born out of Peter Jackson's deal with Microsoft to create the episodic Halo Chronicles game is still currently working on new videogame projects, according to Jackson's manager.
Yesterday it materialised that Jackson was no longer working on the project following time constraints caused by his other commitments. The director is currently working on numerous films, including District 9, The Hobbit, The Lovely Bones and Tintin.
"That Halo project is no longer happening, it sort of collapsed when the movie didn't end up happening," Jackson confirmed.
Ken Kamins, his manager, has since elaborated to the LA Times however, saying that Halo Chronicles was canned by Microsoft back in January as part of budget cuts tied to company-wide layoffs.
"They were scaling back everything, including the number of Halo games, and it just made sense at that point," said Kamins. "Once The Hobbit and Tintin got going, they really cannibalised Peter's time and ability to oversee any Halo games."
Kamins confirmed however that Wingnut Interactive, Jackson's studio set up to work on Halo Chronicles and owned by the director and his partner Fran Walsh, still exists and is working on new videogame projects.
"It was born out of this [Halo deal], but now Peter has people in Wingnut Interactive working on original intellectual property," he said.