Former Halo writer returns to lead Halo Infinite campaign development

Ever since debuting Halo Infinite gameplay earlier this year, there has been a whirlwind of news and rumours surrounding the game and its apparently rocky development. Most recently, Microsoft and 343 Industries had to delay the game, pushing it out of the Xbox Series X launch window to some time in 2021. There is some reason to be optimistic though, as the original lead writer for the Halo franchise has now taken up a leadership position on the project. 

Joseph Staten originally worked at Bungie in the 90s and helped craft the Halo franchise into what it is today. When Bungie left Microsoft in 2007, Staten went with them, only to return to Microsoft's third-party games publishing team in 2014. Now as of this week, Staten is officially working on Halo again, taking on a leadership position on the game's campaign.

I'm thrilled to join @Halo to help them ship Halo Infinite. As the project lead for the Infinite Campaign, I will be supporting the team's existing, great leaders and empowering them to do their best work. https://t.co/pQiNPQVBZs

— Joseph Staten (@joestaten) August 27, 2020

Since 2014, Staten has been working with Microsoft on third-party developed exclusives, like Re-Core, Crackdown 3 and most recently, Don't Nod's cinematic drama ‘Tell Me Why'. Now for the final year or so of development, Staten will be focused on Halo Infinite.

This potentially backs up rumours that 343 Industries has gone through a tumultuous development cycle with this new game, causing Microsoft to bring in new leadership at the final hour.

KitGuru Says: As a writer on the original Halo trilogy, Staten's return for Halo Infinite should give fans reason to be optimistic. Although I do wonder if new leadership will also lead to longer development time and possibly a second delay down the line. Either way, the best we can do now is hope that the game turns out well whenever the final release date lands. 

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