Halo Infinite is due to launch in Fall 2020 on the Xbox One, PC and Microsoft’s next-generation console, Project Scarlett. Having been first announced at E3 in 2018, Halo Infinite is quite far along the development process, which makes the news that the game has lost its creative director all the more shocking.
Tim Longo, who was also the creative director behind Halo 5, is no longer working on the next title, in fact, he’s no longer working for developer 343 Industries at all.
This story was first reported over at Kotaku and while we don’t know why Tim left as of yet, they did reach out to Microsoft to receive the following statement:
“Roles and responsibilities of various team members regularly evolve to meet the needs of a game, throughout development. We have recently had two changes to the Halo Infinite development team. Our Executive Producer, Mary Olson will now take charge of the Campaign team on Halo Infinite as the Lead Producer, utilizing her many years of experience at 343 to help craft a great campaign for fans. Additionally, Tim Longo has recently departed our team and we are truly thankful for his many contributions to our games, our studio and the Halo universe. We wish Tim nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
Losing a creative director this far into the development does feel like a bit of a blow for Halo Infinite, however, Microsoft has assured fans that the departure of Tim Longo won’t affect the release schedule for the anticipated title.
Let’s all just hope that the departure doesn’t affect the quality either and the game releases on time as the finished product. There’s nothing worse than having to rely on updates to make a game playable and it would be nice to kick off the next generation with a bang.
Does this departure worry you or do you have every faith that 343 Industries will deliver a Halo game that fans will love? Let us know in the comments and while you’re there, tell us what your favorite Halo game is to date.
