It seems as one of the worst kept secrets in the development world is that Microsoft Game Studios has been assembling a new team that will reportedly be the new Halo development division for Microsoft.

According to what we have been able to unearth, the new studio will be called Spawnpoint Studios and it will be made up, at least in part, from some of the same team that has been working on Microsoft’s Gears of War 2.

According to some well placed ads seeking developers, they are looking for developers that have a solid track record and development experience with the latest engine technologies such as the Unreal or CryEngine.

As expected, not much is really known about the direction of Halo in the future, but Microsoft is definitely looking to take more control of the property and is likely to want to shorten the development cycle and be able to deliver more titles in the Halo series more quickly. Having an internal development studio that is strictly focused on FPS titles does seem core to this type of an effort.

Rumors have persisted that Microsoft has other concepts or properties that are “Halo oriented” in the development pipeline beyond what Bungie is working on. Several of our sources have indicated that Gearbox is linked to additional Halo development, but we are not sure in what capacity this might be. One thing is for sure: if the Halo titles are good, plenty of Xbox 360 owners are sure to jump on them when released.