14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just posted a brand new job listing for its Halo team, effectively confirming that Halo 5 on the Xbox One will make use of cloud services for different online functions and mechanics.
Microsoft's 343 Industries studio has been working hard on establishing a new direction for the Halo series and, after releasing Halo 4 on the Xbox 360 back in 2012 and the downloadable Halo: Spartan Assault for PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One last year, the studio is looking towards Halo 5 on the Xbox One.
Despite keeping a tight lid on details about the next Halo experience, quite a few bits of info have surfaced, in the form of job listings for different positions at 343 or on Microsoft's Halo team, which is dedicated to maintaining the online functionality for existing games.
A brand new opening has just been posted online, confirming quite a few features for the future of the franchise, including the fact that the cloud will be used to power certain functions.
The listing is for a Software Development Engineer who will work alongside 343 to test different background services.
"The Halo Game Services team is working on building the next generation of backend services to power the Halo Universe. If you are passionate about the technical challenges of testing large scale, real-time services, and you’re looking to join a group of engineers who are pushing the envelope to reinvent the future of entertainment powered by cloud services, then this might be the job for you," the listing said.
Potential candidates will have to work inside 343 and must have experience with multiplayer services, the Microsoft Azure cloud system, and much more.
"As part of this position, you will own the planning, implementation, and execution of feature areas while collaborating with developer, PM, and producer counterparts across multiple teams within 343 Industries," the listing continued.
"Your background should include experience testing multiplayer matchmaking, server based applications, cloud services, and consumer experiences. Our team is focused on continuous improvement and fast iteration cycles. The ability to work in a quickly changing environment will be a key to success."
Microsoft confirms at the end of the ad that the 343 team is "currently working on some new and exciting features," so it seems that the studio is already building the online infrastructure for the next Halo game in the series.
As of right now, Microsoft isn't commenting on any details about the future of the Halo franchise, so expect to hear something in a few months, possibly at E3 2014.