The Halo creators inked a 10-year deal with Activision with the stipulation that they'll retain the ownership of the franchise.
Activision announced that they have signed a 10-year publishing deal with Bungie, the former Microsoft-owned studio who created the Halo franchise.
The new property, which will hit all major platforms, is an "action game universe."
Despite the deal, Bungie will remain independent and own the rights to the new franchise. The specifics of the deal were not revealed, but Activision only holds exclusive rights to this specific property.
Additionally, it has been confirmed that the game will not be shown at E3 2010, so the official reveal of this new series is still a ways off.