Creative Director Tom French has left 343 Industries after 11 and a half years of service.
Tom French made the announcement that he was leaving 343 Industries stating:
“After over 11 1/2 years on Halo, I step out of my Spartan armor for the last time today to head off to new adventures. It’s been a massive honor to have been part of a game I loved so much as a player and admired so much as a developer. I couldn’t be more proud of my time at 343.”
343 Industries lost both its lead developer on Halo Infinite’s Slipspace Engine technology, David Berger, and its founder, Bonnie Ross, just weeks ago, due to a “family medical issue.”.
In the wake of Ross’ departure, the studio head role has been split into three parts: Pierre Hinteze has taken over as production lead, Bryan Koski has been appointed general manager of Halo franchises, Elizabeth Van Wyck has been promoted to business, operations, and community engagement.
French himself was a popular figure with Halo fans being prominent on development diaries and multiplayer features. His last day of work at 343 industries was on the 2nd of December 2022.
French leaves 343 Industries following Halo Infinite’s big Winter Update, which added match-based XP, Forge Mode, online co-op, campaign replay, two new maps, a new battle pass, and the Covert One Flag game mode.
The studio’s Winter Update came with a promise to address areas of feedback, as well as focus on shorter seasons, a more regular content stream, and “bigger things to come.”
French and his team worked hard on Halo Infinite’s controversial launch to bring players the multiplayer experience they so wished for. They made great strides in improving the game and its bugs and issues.
No word as to what French’s next endeavour will be or if he will indeed stay in game development.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Halo Infinite, this is the sixth mainline entry in the Halo series. This campaign follows the human supersoldier Master Chief as he battles the enemy Banished on the Forerunner ringworld Zeta Halo.
The multiplayer portion of the game is free, unlike previous installments.
This is a sad day for the game’s developmental team and hopefully, it won’t affect the game’s outcome in the future.