Microsoft quashes Gearbox-Halo rumors

Gearbox is no stranger to the sci-fi series, having ported the original Halo: Combat Evolved to the PC in 2003. However, the studio's CEO and president Randy Pitchford has dodged questions about whether the "big" project he teased in February 2008 might be the studio's second Halo project. Just this week in an interview with Eurogamer, Pitchford refused to answer repeated yes-or-no questions about the Halo 4 rumor, appearing to even cut the interview short.

Typically, Microsoft would adopt similar evasive maneuvers. However, in a rare turn of events, the company has shot down the rumor outright. This afternoon, 343 Industries, the new internal Microsoft Halo label unveiled at Comic-Con last week, used its Halo Waypoint Twitter feed to declare, "For the record, Gearbox is NOT working on a Halo title for Microsoft."

When queried, Microsoft was all too happy to confirm the post. "Halo Waypoint is an official 343 Industries Twitter account," said a rep. "For the record, we can confirm that Gearbox is not working on a Halo project. We are focusing our efforts on Halo 3: ODST, Halo Legends, and Halo: Reach, as well as our new Xbox Live destination called Halo Waypoint."

For more about Gearbox's next 100-percent confirmed project, check out GameSpot's own interview with Randy Pitchford below: