The big Winter Update for Halo Infite finally arrived last month and signalled that even bigger things are coming for the first-person shooter, in an attempt to turn things around. Coinciding with the arrival of the much-awaited content came some harsh news though. Tom French announced on Twitter that he is leaving the company after eleven and a half years of working on the Halo franchise. “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,” French tweeted. “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.”
— Tom French (@pardontomfrench) December 2, 2022 French’s departure follows the recent resignation of several other senior members of the Microsoft studio. 343 Industries director of engineering David Berger and studio head Bonnie Ross also left earlier this year. The recent exodus forced the studio to reorganize its leadership structure. 343 Industries has recently struggled to deliver post-launch content to the game which the studio tried to address. Development delays were compounded by the changes in the studio’s leadership. When the Winter Update finally arrived, 343 Industries thanked fans of Halo Infinite for their patience as the company struggled to deliver on its promises. The developers are also reassuring players that more content is on the way. “We know it certainly hasn’t been the smoothest or quickest ride, but with the Winter Update we have an opportunity to show our thanks for the community’s dedication and feedback which serves as the north star guiding us to evolve the player experience of Halo Infinite,” community writer Alex Wakeford said in a statement. “The Winter Update marks a major step forward for our game and studio, but this is just the first step of that evolution. The team is actively working on key player experience priorities across the game to address areas of feedback, and we are targeting another game update before the end of this year,” Wakeford added. “Your support is greatly appreciated, and we can’t wait to turn this corner with you all in 2023 as we look to shorter seasons, a more regular stream of content, and bigger things to come.” Halo Infinite’s third season, “Echoes Within”, is scheduled to arrive in March 2023. The season will run until June. Halo Infinite is available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
