Microsoft opens Black Tusk Studios for Halo-scale franchise

Microsoft has opened a shiny new studio in the Canadian city of Vancouver to work on its "next big entertainment franchise." What that'll be, well, that's a mystery for now, but Black Tusk Studios has declared its existence to the world and is staffing up.

"We're not working on an existing franchise, we're looking to build the next Halo here in Vancouver, for example, which is really exciting. We are building something from the ground up," studio manager and EA veteran Mike Crump told the Vancouver Sun. "We are building something from the ground up."

Crump and four other EA vets began putting Black Tusk's team together a year ago, growing to 55 members before MS cleared it to launch as a separate studio. If you have skills that could conceivably pay the bills and don't mind Vancouver, they're hiring for a range of positions.