Halo Infinite director Joseph Staten leaves 343 Industries to join Xbox Publishing

After today’s announcement that Microsoft will lay off 10,000 peopleDetails of how the internal restructuring will affect the gaming divisions continue to emerge, with 343 Industries affected by Halo Infinite between the studios.

to me bloombergJoseph Staten, a Halo veteran who began his career with Bungie in 1998, will transition out of his role as Halo Infinite’s creative director and rejoin the Xbox publishing division. Staten joined The team at 343 Industries in 2020 as the lead for the campaign project on Halo Infinite and later saw the title change to Head of Creative.

The Bloomberg report includes an email from 343 Industries president Pierre Hintz, who explained that the studio “made the difficult decision to restructure” and that support for Halo Infinite’s live-service features will continue. Details about Staten’s new role and the exact degree of influence at 343 Industries remain unclear at this time.

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Staten’s credits include a long history with the Halo series, starting with his role as the cinematic director on Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. His work on the Halo universe includes penning some of his novels, and he’s also served as a studio lead. Lead author On Bungie’s sci-fi shooter, Destiny. He left his MMO role and later joined Microsoft in 2014.

The Halo studio is among the many affected by Microsoft’s layoffs, including the Gears of War studio, The Coalition, and more. It recently acquired Bethesda. Microsoft Articles It notes that the cuts affect 5% of its workforce. This is in addition to 1,000 employees left work in October 2022.

With cuts and restructuring spilling over into its game studios, Microsoft is still pushing ahead with acquisitions. A year ago today, the company announced that it would Buy Activision Blizzard For a record-breaking $68.7 billion. that The deal later came under fire from regulatorssuch as the US Federal Trade Commission, as investigations continue.

Andrea Sherron is a freelance contributor to IGN covering gaming and entertainment. She’s donned many hats during her seven-year career in the gaming industry, with bylines at Fanbyte, USA Today’s FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@employee) or the Materia Possessions podcast that talks about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.