Yesterday, via Twitter, Jerry Hook, Halo Infinite’s head of design, announced his departure from 343 Industries.
“Today marks my last day at 343i, Microsoft and Halo. This journey has been filled with creating new worlds, platforms and products from Xbox, Xbox Live to Halo. Most of all it has been working alongside some of the most passionate and driven people in the industry, that have impacted millions of players around the world. Thank you to all that have let me run alongside you in this amazing industry. And thank you to this community.”
Hook started his career at Microsoft in 2003 as a lead program manager for commerce and accounts on Xbox Live. Later, he would take on an executive producer role and has been credited on numerous 343 Industries Halo titles including Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. Parting ways with Microsoft in 2015 to join Bungie to work on the Destiny franchise, Hook would eventually return to Microsoft in 2018 where he would later become Head of Design for Halo Infinite (2019).
Since his departure announcement, there has been no word on who will replace him. Hook’s departure follows a number of recent high-profile departures from the Halo Infinite team, including Multiplayer Lead Andrew Witts and Lead Narrative Designer Aaron Linde. Witts left the studio in March, saying he wanted to “take some time off to relax and recharge”, while Linde resigned in January to take a position at Riot Games.
Joe Staten is still running things as 343’s Head of Creative for Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite has had a bit of a journey following its launch toward the end of last year, with multiplayer fans voicing major frustrations over a number of issues with the game – lackluster seasonal battle pass offerings, a lack of content updates, and concerns with the game’s monetization. 343 has pledged to improve matters on multiple occasions. With Halo Infinite’s recently launched Season 2, Microsoft and 343 are hoping to get back on players’ good side.
Hook has yet to share his future plans following his departure only teasing a “Next Saga coming soon” on his LinkedIn profile.
Are you currently playing Halo Infinite? Will you miss Jerry’s influence on Halo? Will the recent departures from 343 Industries be a good or bad thing for the future of Halo? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Source: Pure Xbox, Twitter, Eurogamer
(Xbox Game Pass feature image © Xbox, Microsoft)
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