In the latest setback for the Halo Infinite development team, Microsoft has lost two more veteran developers from the franchise in a week. Joseph Staten and Frank O’Connor, who has been with the Halo series for over a decade, have left Microsoft, adding to the growing list of departures from the project.
Staten, who worked on the first three Halo games before leaving to join Bungie, returned to the franchise in 2020 to help with the development of Halo Infinite. However, earlier this year, he was among the ones leaving Microsoft during company-wide layoffs.
O’Connor, who had been with the Halo series since 2004 and most recently served as franchise creative director, has also departed from Microsoft. While his departure has not been officially confirmed, his LinkedIn profile shows him working at a new, undisclosed company.
The news was first reported by Windows Central, which noticed that O’Connor’s LinkedIn account had been updated to reflect his departure from Microsoft this month. It is unclear where he will be working next, but the updated information in his profile implies that he will still be a franchise creative director.
Halo Infinite’s development team has faced several setbacks and delays since the game was first announced in 2018. Last year, the game missed its intended launch day release for the Xbox Series X/S and has received mixed reviews from fans and critics.
In addition to Staten and O’Connor, several other high-profile developers have left 343 Industries, the studio responsible for developing Halo Infinite, over the past year. Some have speculated that creative differences or the stress of maintaining a live service game may have contributed to these departures. Despite these challenges, the Halo Infinite team has continued to work on the game, releasing several updates and patches in recent months.
