Halo veteran Joseph Staten is leaving Microsoft

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.

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. The company didn’t share with IGN where Staten would be going next, and it didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge. Staten declined to comment to IGN and didn’t reply to a request for comment from The Verge.