Something appears to be brewing in 343 Industries, and in favor of the current season, it may leave more than a few users frightened as to the possible future of the Master Chief himself.
Chris Lee, the game director of Halo Infinite and longstanding executive, has reportedly stepped away from the project relatively shortly after the project was shown and publically mocked in the Xbox Games Showcase thanks to poor visuals and modeling on top of relatively iffy gameplay that appeared to ascribe to the standard Ubisoft open-world trope; journey, fight, journey, fight and find an occasional collectible.
Bloomberg scoop: Halo Infinite director and longtime 343 executive Chris Lee has left the project. This is the second Halo Infinite director to depart in two years, and another sign of the game's turbulent development. https://t.co/JmuSDQK87x
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 28, 2020
After Halo Infinite made its initial reveal, more than a few were concerned about the direction 343 Industries were going, along with whether or not they could possibly pull-off a modern take of the Master Chief’s fight in a format that they have always wanted since Halo: Combat Evolved with open-world gameplay putting control into the hands of the players.
This marks the second director to step away from the company in recent years as rumors continue to aggregate regarding a relatively unstable and turmoil-laden development cycle that appears to have swallowed the upcoming iteration of the beloved franchise.
Chris Lee stated in a report from Bloomberg that he believes that ‘they will deliver a great game’ and it’s a good time for him to step away from the project. That he becomes the second director to do so raises more than a few eyebrows, especially when one considers the last-shown state of the game over a month ago prior to the announcement of Halo Infinite being delayed until 2021.
This, on top of the comparatively outstanding Playstation 5 line-up reveal days prior to Xbox‘s, has not been terribly kind to the upcoming anticipation of the Xbox Series X/S in spite of Gabe Newell’s vouch for the system over that of Sony’s that many theorized could be the remnants of the two companies failing to find middle ground with their titles.
I can confirm, based not on assumptions but on conversations with the developers, that Halo Infinite has been having development issues for a very long time
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) October 28, 2020
No statement regarding the loss of the director has been made via official Halo social media channels as of yet which was reported at around 1300 EST today.
It’s unlikely that they would announce it publically in light of how poorly Halo Infinite’s reveal was received, many would likely make the very same connections that other outlets have made.
Jason Schreier, the same individual who has been outspoken regarding the alleged treatment of developers within CD Projekt Red, has verified that there has been ongoing turmoil around the apparently beleaguered title.
Here’s hoping that the indomitable strength of the Master Chief can guide 343i through the rest of the development process.
