After Microsoft announced 10,000 layoffs, we’re getting more details about how the internal restructuring will affect its gaming divisions, with Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries among several of the company’s US teams affected.
According to a report BloombergJoseph Staten, a Halo veteran who began his career with Bungie in 1998, will transition from his role as Creative Director of Halo Infinite and rejoin Xbox Publishing. Staten joined the 343 Industries team in 2020 as the lead for the Halo Infinite campaign and later saw his position change to Chief Creative Officer.
The Bloomberg report includes a letter from Pierre Hintz, president of 343 Industries, who explained that the studio “made the difficult decision to restructure” and that support for live services features in Halo Infinite will continue. However, details about the creative director’s new role and how this decision will affect 343 Industries are still unclear at this time.
Staten has a long history with the Halo series, starting with his role as film director on Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. His work in the Halo universe includes authoring some novels. The studio lead also served as lead writer on Bungie’s sci-fi title Destiny, and later joined to Microsoft in 2014.
The Halo developer is among several studios affected by Microsoft’s layoffs, including The Coalition and recently acquired Bethesda. Microsoft’s blog says that this decision affects its workforce by 5%, in addition to the 1,000 employees who were let go in October 2022.