Joseph Staten, one of the bigger names within theHalofranchise as well asHalo Infinite, announces their departure from Microsoft entirely, promising to share more information on what’s next soon. While the development ofHalo Infinitewas notoriously difficult, resulting in numerous delays and reworks,Microsoft’s decision to launch theHalo Infinitemultiplayer early in betaand free to play proved to be a boon as fans were able to jump in and start playing right away. However, that goodwill has eroded over the years as fans remain frustrated byHalo Infinite’s slower reward and content cycle. Worse yet,343 Industries has seen plenty of departuresfrom the studio as well as theHalo Infiniteproject following the game’s launch. Last year alone saw a number of high profile developers depart the studio includingHalo Infinitemultiplayer creative director Tom French, Design Lead Jerry Hook, and lead developer David Berger. Now, it is confirmed another major leadership piece is not only leavingHalo, but Microsoft entirely.RELATED:Latest Halo Infinite Patch Blocks Some PC Gamers from Playing the GameJoseph Staten, a longtime developer on theHalofranchise and current serving Head of Creative, announced that he is leaving Microsoft entirely through a new Tweet. For now Staten isn’t revealing where he’s going, promising to share that information soon and ultimately thanking his Xbox colleagues for their support and understanding through this big change. Microsoft also confirmed the news, thanking Staten for all of his contributions to the Halo franchise and Xbox as a whole. In fact, his Tweet brought out a great many people from the industry to thank him for his work including former colleagues onHalo Infinite.
For the Halo franchise in general, Staten has been a major piece over the years. First starting out as the cinematic director ofHalo: Combat Evolvedand both mainline sequels that followed with Bungie, he eventually moved over to theDestinyfranchise, serving as lead writer. Eventually, Staten departed Bungie to rejoin Microsoft as senior creative director and working on games likeReCoreandCrackdown 3. Eventually, he rejoined Master Chief bytaking on the Campaign Project Lead title forHalo Infinite, before later accepting the Head of Creative role.
Staten’s departure appears to be the final piece of the restructuring that took place at 343 industries early in 2023, which saw him leaving the studio entirely to rejoin Xbox Publishing. Since then, Microsoft has seen numerous job cuts and layoffs, with reports indicating that 10,000 jobs were lost in late January, with more coming a few weeks later in February. For now, it appears to be full steam ahead forHalo Infinitewhich recently launched Season 3including new maps, game modes, weapons, and more.
Halo Infiniteis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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