Yesterday, the Xbox and Halo community got some "shock news" - with Head of 343 Industries Bonnie Ross announcing she would be leaving the studio (as well as Microsoft) due to a family medical issue.
In case you missed it, her replacement will be Head of Production Pierre Hintze. Hintze is an industry veteran and has been working on Halo - including Halo Infinite and the Master Chief Collection - since joining 343 in 2018.
You can read more about Hintze's history with games and his time within the video game industry in 343's extensive spotlight dating back to the same year: Employee Spotlight: Pierre Hintze.
Hintze is part of a studio restructure (via Windows Central) - with Microsoft announcing he'll be joined by Bryan Koski as general manager of the Halo franchise and Elizabeth Van Wyck who will run business operations. Windows Central notes how this essentially splits Ross' role into three parts to better serve the franchise.
https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1569371945979858945
You can learn more about Ross' sudden departure in our original story:
If we hear any further developments, we'll let you know.
[source windowscentral.com]
Comments 21
Ok we got the management structure in place.
Let’s stop arsing about and see what you deliver.
You got plenty of amazing examples, a couple of Xbox studios and others outside of Xbox studios, on how to perform game wise and deliver.
@Dezzy70 looks like a positive change but Frank O’Connor is still kicking around so hopefully he doesn’t nullify this management restructuring.
They should also downsize, the company is way too bloated right now. Bad management + too much staff = many go unsupervised which gives slacking off free-reign
I think its rather short sighted not to give Joseph Staten a bigger leadership role at 343i, he's probably the most qualified to give Halo Infinite a much needed impetus.
This seems to me like shuffling the chairs around on the.....😉
First U-turn he should do is announce split screen for Halo Infinite lol.
Honestly, I have no idea who these people are. I hope it leads to positive change, and I wish them well.
Still, I wont be diving in to anything other than MCC until the new leadership has proven itself.
Wrong move. They are doubling down on 343 being the Halo studio, which means Halo will not recover.
The malaise in this franchise is so strong that simply swapping a few department heads around, will not make a significant enough difference imo. I hope Im wrong.
@Titntin it will if those people in charge have the right vision
@Kaloudz Don't get me wrong, you are very right but if there is one thing HI has had its time, between the original delay and constant feature delays I'm not sure how much more time the player base is prepared to give.
Hopefully when Forge launches, with just a little curation it should give them a bit of breathing room. They need to use that to deliver something a smaller short-term goal they can achieve and point to build some good will.
Joseph Staten and a tighter (smaller) team would probably be better. A huge studio with a record-breaking budget still needed external help to fix Halo Infinite, so something was wrong.
They have to get people in there that respect and care about their fans. Just look at way they ran their forums during halo 4.
Disgraceful.
Hopefully that snickerdoodle clown there is the next to go. Terrible person.
Haven’t played Halo since Halo 2, but always given them a chance each time and just haven’t meshed with them somehow.
I think the colour scheme needs a massive rethink for a start, as my eyes just get bored, playing this latest iteration it just felt no different to the original somehow. Which I understand would be good and bad depending on who’s playing of course.
Since playing Destiny 1 and 2 regularly, it’s kind of filled that hole in my mind I once had, what with the same style of gun play and pacing.
Plus it has colours that don’t look like my HDR TV is on its way out. 😂
And just to note, I look forward to when or if Halo can grab me one day, but it needs a massive overhaul. Maybe this is the beginning of the end or the beginning of something I can get my hands on and feel excited again.
@GuyinPA75 I spent years on Waypoint trying to highlight the issues Halo would face with the direction it was taking (and unfortunately, was completely right) and we'd get so much push back from people like Snickerdoodle.
And now I've just read that they made them an actual 343i employee in 2019? It's no wonder that 343i don't understand the community when these are the people in charge of managing the community.
@Baler " it will if those people in charge have the right vision"
Theres no one new here, they have all already contributed to the mess Halo is in already. There is no evidence of any new vision taking place.
Ive seen failing creative devs from the inside. Unless you bring in new management at the top, people from elsewhere doing things differently, then shuffling a few faces in the board meetings achieves very little for the resultant code. Id also like to believe that the changes can be a force for good, but in my experience little management shuffles never achieve dramatic change. I believe dramatic change is required to get the franchise back on the right trajectory.
@Titntin we don’t know for sure though. It’s time to be optimistic 😊 I’m just happy I won’t be hearing bonnie talk nonsense about halo and diversity ever again!
Step down or get fired. Saying she wanted to stay until the winter update is the hint that this was not voluntary. She could’ve taken a leave of absence, work from home full or part time.
Halo Infinite is becoming a dumpster fire and MS rightfully handed her options. Halo should’ve had a BR, split-screen co-op, and other features.
Obviously something hasn't quite worked out for 343i - an Almost, but not quite delivering on the promise and legacy of the Bungie era. Maybe its because they tried to do too much with the IP - branching out into different genres (RTS, Arcade style top down shooters) and media TV/Film and stretched too far to deliver top quality in all areas instead of focusing on one area to ensure that its the 'best' it can be.
As they say, Time will tell if this was the right choice for MS with their Halo IP but it does also show me that MS are being 'pro-active' in giving their 'new' leadership an opportunity to prove they have what it takes. After all H:I was a critical success and was well received at launch. Its more the pace of content/features post launch that has 'disappointed' - which means people want to play the game which is also a positive that 343i can take forward too...
@Sol4ris he might not be there for the long term and could be happy with his role. Wasn't he retired and came back to help out? I don't think he's looking for a looking for a leadership role.
Looking at his background in the interview, I'm not sure he's the leader we would want for the franchise, even if it's the business right pick. Started in Japanese games localization for Sega UK, but, then onto PES, then FIFA and NHL, then racing games, then S-E on F2P and mobile, then Sony (unknown game since it's an MS interview and they didn't ask, lol), then 343.
I'm not sure his background is encouraging from the perspective of what we would want Halo to be, but it fits right in line with what Halo is already becoming.
Bonnie Ross should have ben forced out after the mess that is Halo 5.
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