It looks like 343 Industries, the studio behind Xbox’s Halo franchise, may have just lost another major developer that has big ties to the franchise. Following the launch of Halo Infinite in late 2021, some of the most notable names at 343 have been moving on from the company. This past fall, studio head Bonnie Ross revealed that she would be leaving 343 Industries. She was joined by creative director Joseph Staten, who announced this past month that he would also be walking away from Microsoft as a whole. Now, another big name tied to Halo seems to also have also accompanied these two amidst the internal shakeups.
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Based on a recent update spotted on his personal LinkedIn profile, longtime franchise director Frank O’Connor looks to have now stepped away from Halo as well. For the better part of the past two decades, O’Connor has been one of the key creatives that has helped determine the course of the Halo series. And although O’Connor hasn’t specifically said that he’s done with Halo, his LinkedIn page does now state that his tenure at Microsoft has come to an end as of April 2023. His current role, which is also for the position of creative director, is now linked to an unnamed company.
If O’Connor has indeed changed roles and is no longer working on Halo, it marks a pretty notable shift. For those unaware, O’Connor has worked on Halo in some capacity dating back to the franchise’s days when it was being developed by Bungie. After Microsoft established 343 to continue working on Halo games, O’Connor stuck around and helped work on projects like Halo 4, Halo 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Halo Infinite.
From the outside looking in, it definitely seems like those in charge at Xbox are reshuffling much of the talent that is in control of the Halo franchise. After Halo Infinite largely failed to meet fan expectations at launch, it seemed likely that big alterations could end up happening internally. And while Halo will surely continue to be a key pillar for Xbox in the future, it looks like there might be a fair amount of new blood working on the series down the road.
How do you feel about O’Connor potentially being the latest lead developer to move on from working on the Halo series? And what do you think these changes mean for the future of Halo as a whole? Let me know either down in the comments or shoot me a message on Twitter at @MooreMan12.
