A writer and designer on three previous Halo games and Destiny, Staten joined the Infinite team after the game was delayed from its original 2020 release date.
Joseph Staten, a Bungie veteran who worked on the first three Halo games and was brought on to help get Halo Infinite over the finish line, is leaving Microsoft, the company confirmed to IGN on Friday and Staten himself confirmed on Twitter.
“Hey folks, I am indeed leaving Microsoft,” Staten said. “I’ll have more info to share soon, but for now, I’d just like to thank all my @Xbox colleagues for all their understanding and support as I embark on a new adventure.”
Staten switched from Xbox’s global publishing arm to the Halo Infinite development team at 343 Industries in August 2020, and by then, the game had already been delayed to 2021 from its original November 2020 launch date. He helped get Infinite out the door in December 2021, but the game had some post-launch troubles, including delays of its campaign co-op and Forge modes that meant they didn’t launch until November 2022.
In January, Staten left 343 Industries following layoffs at the studio to rejoin Xbox’s publishing division. Now, he’s leaving Microsoft altogether.
Update April 7th, 10:01PM ET: Added tweet from Staten.
