Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries took to Twitter on Saturday to share a quick message in regards to the franchise’s future. “Halo and Grasp Chief are right here to remain,” 343 mentioned in a press release attributed to studio head Pierre Hintze. “343 Industries will proceed to develop Halo now and sooner or later, together with epic tales, multiplayer, and extra of what makes Halo nice.”
The assertion comes after Microsoft confirmed that it could lay off 10,000 workers earlier than the top of March. In line with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, 343 Industries was “hit laborious” by the restructuring and misplaced Halo veteran and artistic director Joe Staten – who joined the studio in 2020 to assist carry Infinite over the end line – to Microsoft’s publishing division. Staten’s reassignment follows a handful of different high-profile departures, together with that of Slipspace Engine lead developer David Berger and 343 co-founder Bonnie Ross. Schreier couldn’t put a quantity to the cuts at 343, however he mentioned Infinite’s marketing campaign workforce was notably affected by the cuts. Previous to the layoffs, the studio additionally had a “long-running” hiring freeze in place and had misplaced a number of contractors in current weeks and months. One former 343 employees member blamed the layoffs on “incompetent management up high.”
Microsoft launched Halo Infinite in 2021 to usually constructive evaluations, however the recreation has since struggled to take care of a constant participant base. On Steam, for example, Infinite is at the moment averaging about 4,000 gamers per day, a steep drop from the 100,000 gamers it was averaging at launch. Greater than a yr after the sport’s launch, Microsoft additionally has but to announce new marketing campaign content material for Infinite. Halo followers rightfully have purpose to be nervous in regards to the franchise’s future.
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