Joseph Staten, the head of creative on Halo Infinite and a former longtime writer at Bungie, is leaving Microsoft, the company confirmed to IGN. Staten left Bungie during the troubled development of Destiny and joined Microsoft in early 2014, helping Xbox Game Studios publish a variety of games. In 2020, after Halo Infinite's infamous first showing and year-long delay, Staten joined 343 Industries to see the project to completion.
The initial positivity around Infinite's release in 2021 quickly soured, leading to a rough first year for the game. Just as it seemed like Infinite was starting to find its footing, Microsoft announced it would be laying off 10,000 employees, including developers at 343. At the same time, Staten left 343 to return to Xbox publishing. That move has proven to be short-lived.
