Halo Infinite Loses Another Project Lead, But 343 Says Not to Panic

Halo Infinite lead producer Mary Olson has left 343 Industries and has joined Midwinter Entertainment, a newly formed studio working on its debut game, Scavengers. Olson will be in head of production at the new studio. As for why she's leaving 343 Industries, it's unclear. As you will know, it's not normal for a game to lose a lead producer at this stage in development. As a result, Halo fans are in a bit of a panic, especially when considering the fact that this comes not long after creative director Tim Longo left the game and studio behind. The game appears to be having development troubles, as this type of turnover at the top is far from normal. However, despite this, 343 Industries insists everything is fine.

Word of Olson's departure comes quietly via her LinkedIn page. Olson had been with the studio for seven years, and was named executive producer just two months ago following the departure of the aforementioned Tim Longo. Again, the string of departures has fans worried, but community manager Jon Juynyszek insists that there's no writing on the walls.

"I'd like to reassure everyone that the entire Halo Infinite team is rallying behind the game and is working hard to make sure we can execute on its vision," said the community manager.

Junyszek drove home that there's "no creative dilemma inside the studio" and that this departure isn't indicative of any larger problem. Of course, given that Junyszek is a part of 343 Industries -- and a community manager, no less -- means it's hard to take his word at face value, but it's all Halo fans can really do right now.

As alluded to, losing project leads like this isn't great. Longo was in charge of the game's creative decisions, meaning he was more or less the top dog on the game's development. Meanwhile, Olson was in charge of making sure everything is running smoothly at 343 and basically ensuring the game launches. To lose both of these positions -- especially so close to each other -- isn't common, and almost always is indicative of development issues.

Halo Infinite is in development for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Scarlett. It's scheduled to release as a Xbox Scarlett launch title in the holiday 2020 window. For more news, rumors, leaks, media, and information on the upcoming sci-fi shooter, click here.