343 industries responds to concerns regarding Halo development

343 Industries’ Studio Head Pierre Hintze denied the allegations made by numerous new media outlets in a statement posted on Twitter, stating that the studio would keep working on the Halo franchise despite the mass layoff.

There have been reports of layoffs from a number of major studios during the past several days. Unfortunately, 343 Studios and Bethesda have suffered significantly due to the wave of mass layoffs. According to some reports, around 500 employees have lost their employment at the gaming studios. Amid these layoffs, many reports suggested that 343 Industries would not create more titles for Xbox’s sci-fi series Halo.

The studio’s head Pierre Hintze said that the 343i team would continue to develop Halo now and in the future, reassuring fans that the studio will continue to lead the Halo franchise for Xbox and Microsoft. The studio has stayed silent on the subject of the layoffs or the claims of management failures, keeping the official count confidential.

Will 343 Industry stay committed to making Halo despite the economic slowdown?

Several Xbox studios were affected by Microsoft’s massive round of layoffs, but the Halo Infinite campaign team at 343 appeared to be the hardest hit. It was reported a few days ago by Bloomberg and Lords of Gaming that the studio has suffered a “significant” number of layoffs, especially those working on Halo Infinite’s single-player mode.

The reports came after a spate of high-profile departures from the company, including Tom French, the multiplayer creative director of Halo Infinite, and the head of creative for Halo Infinite, Joseph Staten, who left the company as a result of the swift layoff and joined Xbox’s publishing division.

Halo Infinite was supposed to be the foundation for the franchise’s future, but everything has gone wrong in the year following the mass layoffs. Earlier this week, it was also reported that the studio would take assistance from other third-party developers on Halo games. Additionally, the Halo leaker Bathrobe Spartan claimed that the developer would stop making Halo titles for the Xbox.

Although 343 Company Head Pierre Hintze stated that 343 Industries and Halo are here to stay, the studio hasn’t addressed other rumors regarding the situation. As the iconic franchise has been associated with 343 Industries since its debut in 2001, it is hard to picture the Halo series being created by any other studio.

In fact, as a result of their two decades of collaboration, the studio has become synonymous with the series itself. What the future holds for the company remains to be seen, but it doesn’t sound like everything is going to be bad for 343 Industries association with the Halo series.

Header: Xbox