Halo Infinite's creative director Joe Staten departs from 343 Industries to rejoin Xbox as part of restructuring amidst mass layoffs
As Microsoft lays of 10,000 employees across its divisions, the Halo maker 343 Industries is amongst the worst affected divisions, now restructuring its workforce. Here's everything you need to know about these developments.
Microsoft has finally confirmed reports of its plans to lay off more than 10,000 employees. Of studios under Microsoft that will be affected by this, including names like Xbox, Bethesda, 343 Industries, and The Coalition. Naturally reports of internal restructuring at these divisions are now surfacing. The latest is that Halo Infinite director Joseph Staten will be leaving 343 Industries to join Xbox Publishing. Here’s more on these latest developments at Microsoft.
Microsoft studios 343 Industries, Bethesda, Xbox hit by mass layoff
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on January 18, that Microsoft will see “reduction” in its overall workforce by 10,000 jobs by the end of FY, 2023. Nadella cited global recession as the cause in his open letter, now available on Microsoft blogs. This naturally comes as a huge blow, as reports soon surfaced as to how this affects the gaming division of Microsoft. As we’ve already mentioned, from reports that we’ve corroborated, Xbox, 343 Industries, Bethesda and Gears of War maker The Coalition are amongst the studios affected. Multiple employees have taken to the internet, to announce that they have been laid off in the past couple of hours.
I was just laid off today as part of the Microsoft changes.
— 🌟Sam Luangkhot (@flarechess) January 18, 2023
To my #ESOFam, I'll still be cheering for all of you and the Global Reveal. I loved working with all of you and I'll miss you all so much 💔🦎
Amidst all of this, Halo Infinite developers 343 Industries has announced an internal restructuring. The studio head Pierre Hintze has announced that Joe Staten, creative director of Halo Infinite and a veteran to the franchise, will be leaving the studio to rejoin Xbox’s Publishing division. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has announced the news. Another report from Lords of Gaming suggests that “individuals working on the single-player side” at 343 Industries have been most heavily affected.
Ex-343 Industries employees criticise developers
We can only attempt to gauge the gravity of the situation. Regardless, a number of former employees have taken to social media to express their disappointment, particularly with the “management.” Patrick Wren has previously worked with 343 Industries for 8 years, before he left as senior multiplayer designer on Halo Infinite. He eventually moved on to Respawn to work on the upcoming Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. He tweeted about how the “layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened”. He mentioned how the people he worked with on Halo Infinite, “were passionate”, and “wanted to make something great for the fans.They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.”
The people I worked every day with were passionate about Halo and wanted to make something great for the fans. They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.
— Patrick Wren (@Witdarkstar) January 19, 2023
Devs still there are working hard on that dream. Look at Forge. Be kind to them during this awful time.
As Satya Nadella mentioned in his letter, while recession is a reality of our times, such mass layoffs only re-emphasise the point. Regardless, Microsoft isn’t the only to have been resorting to such extreme measures. The latest to take a cue from Microsoft is the Valorant maker Riot Games. You can find out more about the mass layoffs at Riot Games right here in our full coverage.
