It seems like 2023 hasn’t been the best year for many tech companies. One such affected company is Microsoft, which made headlines after announcing a wave of layoffs in various of their divisions, including gaming. Not much is known about the specifics, but it’s estimated to be a total of 10,000 layoffs across the whole company. And now, if a recent rumor is to be believed, Joseph Staten, one of the creative leads for Halo Infinite, will be affected by this.
According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, Joseph Staten, the man who joined 343 Industries to be the project lead for Halo Infinite’s campaign, will be leaving it to rejoin the Xbox Publishing team. Unfortunately, other teams over at 343 and even Bethesda will also be hit by the massive layoff news that will keep making waves in the coming days.
The bad news doesn’t end there, however. In an e-mail to staff seen by the publication, it was found out that the 343 Industries campaign team that was working on Halo Infinite was hit hard. Studio lead Pierre Hintze told the staff that: “we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure elements of our team, which means some roles are being eliminated.”
Joseph’s departure from 343 Industries will definitely leave a big impact on the company, should this rumor be true. This, of course, spells bad news for Halo Infinite once again, as the game has lost yet another creative force behind it after its rough launch. Not like the game was shaping up well before, either. Joseph Staten was a very important figure in the future of Halo Infinite.
What will be the future for Halo Infinite and other Microsoft properties? How many more prominent gaming figures will be laid off? Stay tuned to find out. Halo Infinite is currently available for Xbox Series X|S and PC.
