A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to PC Gamer that Halo’s franchise director, Frank O’Connor, has left Microsoft, telling us, “We thank Frank for his quite a few contributions to the Halo franchise and want him effectively going ahead.” O’Connor’s departure was first reported over the weekend by Home windows Central (opens in new tab), who seen that his LinkedIn (opens in new tab) had been up to date to indicate him leaving Microsoft for a brand new function at an unspecified firm.
O’Connor started engaged on Halo at Bungie in 2004, the place he wrote the “Bungie Weekly Replace,” a predecessor to the still-running Future bulletin “This Week at Bungie.” O’Connor left the corporate for Microsoft correct in 2008, after the discharge of Halo 3, the place he held the senior function of franchise inventive director, overseeing 343 Industries in addition to different studios engaged on numerous multimedia tasks within the setting. O’Connor can also be credited as an government producer for the Halo TV sequence.
O’Connor is the newest in a stream of senior builders and executives engaged on Halo to go away Microsoft and 343. Simply two weeks in the past, Halo inventive lead and fellow Bungie vet Joseph Staten (opens in new tab) left Microsoft after 9 years with the corporate. 343’s founder, Bonnie Ross, stepped down from her place (opens in new tab) as head of the developer in September, whereas 2022 additionally noticed the departure of Halo Infinite’s lead multiplayer designer, lead narrative designer, and multiplayer inventive director (opens in new tab).
Moreover, the sport’s inventive and challenge administrators left 343 throughout Infinite’s improvement, which by all accounts was a taxing course of even earlier than the sport was delayed an additional 12 months following a poorly-received first displaying in 2020. Worse nonetheless, a major variety of salaried and contracted builders at 343 appear to have been included within the wave of 10,000 staff laid off by Microsoft (opens in new tab) in January.
One of many final large names at 343 via late 2022, Kiki Wolfkill, can also be not a part of the Halo braintrust. Wolfkill left the studio for a job as “head of Xbox IP enlargement and leisure” in November. The massive conferences with Pierre Hientz, who took over for Bonnie Ross as studio head, should look nearly utterly completely different than they did a 12 months in the past. Although O’Connor’s substitute, Corrinne Robinson, has been engaged on Halo since 2009, and served as a “franchise supervisor” for the final 9 years.
Issues appeared to be trying up for Infinite instantly after launch, however its first 12 months reside was tough (opens in new tab), marred by delays of latest multiplayer content material and anticipated options like marketing campaign co-op and no phrase of additional single participant additions. With the studio hit by all these layoffs and senior-level departures, I discover myself questioning who’s even going to be left to work on Halo. Infinite was alleged to be a recent starting for Halo, nevertheless it looks like no matter comes subsequent will actually be the beginning of a brand new period.
