Following the news that Halo developer 343 Industries was caught up in the recent round of cuts at Microsoft came a rumor that Halo Infinite campaign DLCs were being cancelled and another rumor that 343 was ceasing direct development and would oversee external development of future content for the sci-fi shooter series. Now a tweet from 343 studio head Pierre Hintze addresses the speculation. This does not address whether campaign DLC is still expected, but it does state that 343 is continuing on as the developer on the Halo series:

Halo and Master Chief are here to stay.

343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.

Pierre Hintze
Studio Head

Valve offers its regularly scheduled rundown of the bestsellers on Steam for the previous week. Here are the best performers for the seven-day period that ended yesterday:

1. Steam Deck.
2. Pre-purchase Hogwarts Legacy.
3. Save 50% on Cyberpunk 2077.
4. Save 67% on Red Dead Redemption 2.
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
6. ELDEN RING.
7. Grand Theft Auto V.
8. Save 50% on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
9. Persona 3 Portable.
10. Save 67% on Red Dead Redemption 2.

• The first two hours of Dead Space Remake have been leaked online.
• Redfall Price in EU Leaks and It Doesn't Come Cheap.

• Dead Space Remake is so terrifying even the dev team struggles to play it.

• Hunt: Showdown -- Fear the Reaper DLC - 50% OFF.
• Save 85% on Foregone on Steam.
• Save 30% on A Plague Tale: Requiem on Steam.
• Save 70% on Muse Dash on Steam.

Unofficial games, patches, and mods.

• New Red Dead Redemption 2 Mods overhaul the textures of medium & large mammals.

• Overwatch 2 players are mistakenly blaming Mercy for its balance problems. Mercy not actually one of the developers.

Content creator videos.Thanks Ant.

• Top 10 Most Underrated Video Games Of All Time.
• (620) Exploiting your follower to carry loot #shorts - Viva La Dirt League.
• 10 Video Games You Shouldn't Have Played At Launch. Thanks RedEye9.
• The 8-Bit Big Band LIVE at MAGFest -FULL SET- Music and Gaming Festival - Jan 6th 2023.
• Castle Sol is EASY - Elden Ring #36 - Carbot.

• GTA Online gives players free and easy money in Lunar New Year event.
• Armored Core 6 set for hour-long FromSoftware presentation next month.

• Steam Deck Is Reaching Its Limits in Games Like Plague Tale- Requiem.
• iPhone 15 will have a beautiful, Android-like design, leaker implies.

• Twitter is working on an ad-free subscription tier.

Thanks Neutronbeam.

• DirectX 12 vs. DirectX 11: which is better for PC gaming?
• TSMC is making the best of a bad geopolitical situation.
• This Top-Secret Prototype Display Is Truly Groundbreaking.
• Latest Metal Benchmarks Suggest M2 Max is About 9 Percent Slower Than M1 Ultra.
• Samsung refusing to acknowledge and replace 990 Pro SSD with rapid health drops.
• The Official Microsoft Blog: Focusing on our short- and long-term opportunity.
• Unreal Engine 5.1 Dune Desert Landscape Demo released, pushes NVIDIA RTX 4090 to its limits. Thanks Max.
• Windows Doesn’t Suck! Microsoft Just Wants You To Think So… - Linus Tech Tips (video). Thanks RedEye9.
• GPU Cooler Tested With Ketchup, Potatoes, and Cheese as Thermal Paste. No bacon? No sale!

• GTAOnline PC High Alert⚠️ New extreme exploits have appeared allowing cheaters to remotely add-remove-modify your stats and permanently corrupt your account aka ban/delete. Thanks Reddit.
• ICC loses around $2.5 million in phishing scam, US agencies involved in probe. Thanks DSLReports via Ant.

• Madison Square Garden's facial recognition policy ignites debate over the tech. Thanks RedEye9.

• Laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s G3 AMD- Currently probably the best ThinkPad laptop - NotebookCheck.net News. Thanks Neutronbeam.
• RAM: Crucial 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-4800 Memory Kit - Mad Shrimps.
• Smartwatch: Coros Apex 2 Pro Review- For Practical Outdoors People - WIRED (may require registration or subscription).

Happy Lunar New Year, as today kicks off celebrations that will last until the beginning of February. With the year of the Water Tiger in the rearview, we are now in the year of the Rabbit. Specifically, the Water Rabbit. which reportedly "is said to have the ability to turn unfortunate events around, despite their upbringing." Sounds like just what the world needs, huh? Of course I'm sure it will be a couple of weeks before I remember to stop writing Year of the Tiger on my checks.

Traditional Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.

Brunch Link

• The Expanse Returns in April For "Season Seven", Dragon Tooth.

Stories

• Hidden, never-before-seen penguin colony spotted from space.
• Full List of Regal Movie Theaters Closing Amid Bankruptcy.
• The Calif. park workers embedded deep in remote Sierra for months. Don't need no stinking badges.

Science

• Girl asks police to run DNA test on Christmas cookie for evidence of Santa Claus. So young and innocent.
• A Life-Saving Breakthrough: Scientists Uncover Japanese Fruit Juice That May Help Prevent Lung Cancer. Thanks Max.

Media

• He Couldn't Wait For Pizza. Caught literally red-handed. Thanks VideoSift.
• Orchestra surprises Conductor on his Birthday. Thanks VideoSift.

Creature Features

• Cows try to Scare off a Brave Goose. You mess with a goose, you get the beak. Thanks Boing Boing.

Follow-ups

• Single use coffee pods may not the best choice for the climate. Unpossible! Thanks RedEye9.
• Jeremy Renner Broke Over 30 Bones In Accident.

The Funnies

• Melting Pot - FoxTrot.