It sounds like Peter Jackson's Halo game has joined his attempt at a Halo-branded feature film in the "no longer happening" graveyard.

When asked about the effort, announced in September 2006, the Hollywood director responsible for Lord of the Rings and Dead Alive told Joystiq that the "Halo project is no longer happening, it sort of collapsed when the movie didn't end up happening."

The episodic Xbox 360 game, rumored to be titled Halo Chronicles, was to be co-developed by Jackson's Wingnut Interactive and Microsoft. Jackson's attempt at a Halo movie collapsed in 2006 just after the game project was announced, though he believed the 2007 release of Halo 3 would reignite interest in the beleaguered film. However, his Halo game was still alive in April 2008, as Microsoft was then hiring staff for it.

Microsoft today confirmed the recent rumors that former Metal Gear Solid 4 producer Ryan Payton and ex-id art director Kenneth Scott have joined Microsoft Game Studios, which the comapny says is "working on upcoming and existing Halo games."

The two join what MGS head Phil Spencer described to Edge as a "group of industry heavy hitters," which includes Scott's wife and ex-Gearbox technician Corrinne Yu along with former Bungie writer Frank O'Connor.

Microsoft is said to have at least four different teams working on projects related to the immensely popular sci-fi series, with rumors indicating that Brothers in Arms developer Gearbox is heading up Halo 4 for Xbox 720.

Series creator Bungie is working on a new campaign for Halo 3, while the soon-to-be-closed Ensemble Studios is wrapping up its strategy game Halo Wars and Microsoft Game Studios prepares the Peter Jackson-helmed episodic Halo game.

Shacknews had previously heard from a reliable source that Payton was hired as the creative director for the Peter Jackson Halo game, often referred to as Halo: Chronicles, though Microsoft has yet to confirm his exact position.

Shacknews can corroborate word that former Metal Gear Solid 4 producer and one-time games journalist Ryan Payton will be serving as creative director on the new Halo project in development by Microsoft Game Studios and Peter Jackson.

Reports of Payton's new role surfaced on Kotaku as a rumor and "very reliable news," with Shacknews having heard the exact same information from its own reliable source.

Payton marks the latest addition to Microsoft's growing internal Halo team, which now includes former Gearbox technician Corrinne Yu and ex-Bungie writer Frank O'Connor, and is presently seeking more staff.

Often referred to as Halo: Chronicles, the Xbox 360 game from Lord of the Rings film director Peter Jackson was first announced in 2006, though few details have emerged since that time.

Update: Microsoft has confirmed to MTV Multiplayer that the job listings are indeed for Peter Jackon's Halo project, with the company stating that it has been hard at work in developing the title since its announcement in September of 2006.

"At this time, it's necessary to grow the internal team to keep pace with development," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Bungie will continue to remain involved in multiple aspects of the Halo Universe with [Microsoft Game Studios]."

Original Story: New job listings have appeared on Microsoft's careers website seeking a Creative Director, Producer, Game Engineers and others for a "new experience in the Halo universe," MTV Multiplayer reports.

The postings advertise Microsoft Game Studios position available at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters. No mention of series creator Bungie nor strategy offshoot Halo Wars (X360) developer Ensemble Studios is made... Read more