Chris Lee confirmed on Bloomberg News that he has left both 343 Industries and his previous role as director of Halo Infinite.
Halo Infinite Project Manager Chris Lee has left the project after the famous delay that occurred a few months ago. If you remember correctly, Xbox announced that this title would be kicked from Christmas 2020 to 2021. This happened after a demo of the game was shown. The quality of the demo was mocked for its technical issues and apparent lack of content. Its quality was so questioned that 343 and Xbox decided to do what seemed unthinkable.
Now, Lee has confirmed to Bloomberg News that he was ditching 343 Industries and was “confident” that the team would launch a great game.
This would be a surprise if he weren’t the next director to go into development. The reality is that the development of Halo Infinite has been very problematic. Creative director Tim Longo left 343 Industries last year, and lead producer Mary Olson followed suit shortly after. Currently, the director of the single-player campaign is Joe Staten. Staten is one of the most important figures in Halo so losing him would be catastrophic for the title image. On the other hand, Pierre Hintze is leading the development of multiplayer modes.
Lee will continue to work for Microsoft, but will no longer be part of the Halo projects. Don’t be surprised if, some time after its release, we see an article by Jason Schrier on 343 Industries. What is happening there should get the attention of all video game journalists. The Xbox Series X will launch on November 10, but its exclusive star will take (at least) a few times longer. Are you willing to wait this long?
