Report: 343 Industries 'Hit Hard' By This Week's Job Cuts At Microsoft

Is this a good thing for 343i
I don’t know.

343 are a badly managed studio and have performed badly ruining the Halo franchise. Never been the same since they butchered it. I say take them off Halo and let them come up with an original IP maybe they can redeem themselves.

It sucks when people loose their jobs but Microsoft is a business not a charity. I'm sure they will find alternative employment soon plenty of studios in gaming looking for staff.

Getting fired is an awful thing, but at least in 343's case it has been obvious changes will have to be made.

I mean, they haven't really done much of anything since the game launched sadly... They really just need to open up Forge and let the community run with it. Let there be a Forge maps mode that will play the top community maps and then have a method of inducting the great ones into the regular circulation. Since 343 can't seem to make more than 2 maps in a year and a half...

I can’t say I’m surprised. For a decade 343i has underperformed and mishandled the Halo franchise, they couldn’t even release the master chief collection in good working order. Then they spent 5 years and $200 million + on developing Infinite and had to delay the game for a year and get help from The Coalition.

I just hope those in top positions who are responsible for the mismanagement of 343 are also losing their jobs because they are ultimately to blame.

I’m guessing Halo isn’t making nearly the money they thought it would and that’s partly to blame for this. Truly a shame, great gun play but a mediocre game overall due to so many issues.

Seeing 343 being hit hard is a bit like watching a ship sink long after it has been wrecked. Look back at the last ten years of Halo under 343, iceberg after iceberg.

This awful news for those affected and the franchise in general. Halo Infinite has really struggled to gain relevance since launch. I’ve enjoyed my time with it desire but at this point the “there are literally dozens” of meme will apply to the staff count & player base.

It’s hard to remain optimistic about the future that’s for sure.

Also been lay offs at the coalition apparently

Pretty sure infinite isn't going to be a 10 year game. Although at the rate they release content it might just be 1-2 campaign expansions anyways.

Really enjoyed it, still play the multiplayer with my buddies. Going to get them to play co-op campaign. Really hope they can improve it some more still but if not it's still my most played game by long shot.

This is a good thing, 343 is waaaaay to bloated and seems to get nothing done.

that tweet highlighting the 55mil for the ceo, while 10k go.

Ah. Microsoft showing they don't know what to do with Halo.

Staten, the only person to care enough to try to even fix Halo gets axed.

Meanwhile Wolfkill stays.

This is getting unreal.

Halo, goodbye...

@InterceptorAlpha I don’t why you’d save the TV show over a steady hand on the game series. But that at least explains why Kiki stays and Jeff doesn’t.

I do wonder how drastic they hitting 343. I could see them downsizing to the point of maintaining Infinite and the MCC online modes with some new content, but halting all development on future games, maybe planning to pass Halo 6 responsibilities to someone new. Imagine if ID or Infinite Ward took over Halo...

Maybe they’re moving away from 343 doing halo. As not often does less people equal things getting done quicker. And don’t most of these first party studios also hire aload of contractors on top?
Phil’s already hinted before at the idea of halo using the ID engine…them having it could prove fruitful.
If they have activision they’ll also have plenty of other choices in studios that specialise in fps genre.

Either way it sounds like ms are finally deciding to manage these studios and cut the ever growing money pits they’ve become…as they’ve had so many staff and produced so little over the years…clearly something wasn’t working

@Tharsman They have also laid off at The Coalition per the news. So I don't know, depends on the total number of layoffs to see if they really are downsizing 343 or preparing to pass Halo to some other studio. The whole thing is still very fresh and we need more details to judge better what they are cooking.

I generally just hope that the franchise as a whole remains safe. There is plenty FUD and talk of "RIP Halo" on reddit, YouTube and other places.

maybe if they sold games and not let everyone have gp for $1, maybe gp isnt the best thing since sliced bread, maybe they could have kept a few more staff.. he says with tongue firmly in cheek.

@InterceptorAlpha I’m not really sure he got the axe. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to distance himself. He’s still with Xbox so I tend to feel it was his decision.

Hopefully most of the positions MS is hiring for can be filled with these people.

Halo ? Maybe it's time Coalition or at least some new blood get a crack at it ? Possibly have 343 work on something new ? Who knows could do a Guerrilla games kind of turn around with the studio ?

@Krzzystuff I’m with you. I agree with others the studio has mismanaged Halo overall. But I’ve really enjoyed Infinite. And I’m really excited about where the story goes from here. Did not have anywhere close to this feeling after 4 and 5.

Its incredible they let them run such an iconic franchise for so long and make it irrelevant. They were handling the lore behind Halo. They did a good job in the start but that was about it. The transision into an AAA FPS Studio didn't work. They should disband the studio completely and make a new Halo studio with help from Infinity Ward

Obviously terrible to see anyone lose their jobs but if they're doing a cull the person with the title "Halo Infinite Senior Designer" probably shouldn't be surprised when he finds his head under the axe.

That said this kind of mass firing is gross. All so the company can put on a facade for shareholders. But how can we complain? As we all know, achieving larger returns than last year is the most important thing in the world. Throw newborns into volcanoes if you must. Society will crumble if investors don't get a substantial roi...

Because of a possible global recession I've been hearing.

I kind of like the idea of ID doing the next Halo, but I also don't want to see them stop making their own games like Doom and Quake. Looks like MS are not being so "hands off" anymore, like some people were asking for. Shame for all those involved. I wish them the best of luck for the future and hope they find employment very soon

@xMightyMatt14x I enjoyed Infinite too, the gameplay was really fun. It was also pretty basic and barebones however. The open world, while fun to mess around in, was empty and quite dull. The more linear missions all seemed cut and paste with the same corridors and interiors. Only the one biome was an issue for many also.

I think after 6 years development and the budget they had, what they eventually delivered was poor.

As of Jan 2021 343 studios has over 750 employees. This really makes you wonder what most of them are doing, they have the MCC and HI. With Infinite being hit with so many issues, delays, and canceled content it really raises the question, "what are the 750 employees doing? "

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called the 10,000 job cuts a "difficult, but necessary move so I can be paid $54M a year".

Seriously, I hope the CEO is taking a big pay cut considering he's more than set for life with what he earns in a single year.

They deserve it.

@Fenbops the point I agree to a point about the barebones level of design. For me the open world was great, but would have been tremendously better with more epic (Classic Halo style) confrontations that you feared to go near, like Scarabs. Fighting only Banished soldiers with minimal vehicle enemies and no epic vehicles made it feel a little less. But the upgrade in traversal and overall feel still was a good new direction that they can improve on.

I do disagree on the linear missions, but only because the repeating corridor structure is so native to Halo. Pretty much every Halo game has that feel of “this hallway looks the same” but it’s because the Forerunner style was to build structures this way. I did think there were some missions that really stood out to me as unique and memorable, especially the House of Reckoning. That one was intense and kept me on edge my first time through.

What I’m hoping for in the dlc or next entry is this new formula with, as I said, epic vehicle battles in the open world, and to build well on the story with the Weapon, which I thought was a great way to end Cortana’s story and start anew.

@xMightyMatt14x wouldn't get excited about where the story's going I felt that way at the end of 5 & infinite threw the plot of 4 & 5 down the toilet lol

I see they have also laid off staff at The Coalition, so my worry is will that mean changes to Gears Of War story campaigns? Because they are kinda the reason I have an Xbox.

Hi there fellow gamers;
Being laid off is never plesant and it is always a difficult time not having a job to provide to yourself and your family.
Having said that, this whole restructuration of 343i might be for the best in the team´s future.
Having become a Halo Fan in the last 4 months only, I had the joy of playing the Bungie games for the first time, as well as the first two 343i games (still have Infinite to play).
Halo 4 had a great story and not so good gameplay and Halo 5 Guardians had good gameplay and a terrible story, imo.
I´m still kinda excited and curious for Infinite´s story campaign and see what they were able to do after Halo5 mess of a story.
But what about the future of the Halo franchise?
Will 343i still be in the helm and make another atempt?
Or will another Microsoft studio take the reins?
I really don´t know. But whatever happens, I just hope the next Halo game, if there will be one, is as great, fun and has that essece as the many fans of this beloved franchise need it to be.
Cheers, stay safe everyone and happy gaming to us all

This is bad news. You can’t see it as anything else. It’s to be hoped that the deal for Activison Blizzard goes through. If that does collapse, Xbox is in a whole heap of trouble.

I really hope that snickerdoodle is one of the staff that is cut.

Not only she a useless tool but enormous hypocrite that is not very good person either. Her presence alone is detriment to halo franchise and 343.

I'm not at all surprised that 343 is getting hit hard. I mean, it's been a very long time since they have actually stuck to a schedule.

@BaldBelper78 How would they be in a whole heap of trouble? Every game coming out this year for the Xbox is prior to the Activision acquisition. Although last year sucked, this year should be different (should be). Now if this year is the same, then I would definitely agree that they are in trouble.

@Romans12 I love GamePass but Xbox is starting to feel like subscription service only. This year does look better but still not as good as it surely should be.

@Would_you_kindly I was the opposite. I thought the meta story of five was okay. But hated most of the story while playing it. But I felt like infinite had a great story to build from. But I do get it. It’s a preference thing.

@xMightyMatt14x I was just saying I wouldn't trust them to continue the story as halo 5 never got a proper resolution

@Would_you_kindly ohh I get you. I do see halo infinite as giving resolution to five though. The last sequence, revealing how Cortana came to realize what she had become, and what needed to happen. That was resolution. But didn’t serve as an obvious and direct sequel to finish the direct story from five for sure.

Not sure what Microsoft will do with Halo going forward. From what I understand 343 studios were created specifically for Halo so I hope they continue on Halo. But only if the entire company is restructured. Halo is my all-time favorite FPS series and I highly enjoyed Infinite. However, the problem (at least from an outsider's perspective) is that the team at 343 doesn't seem to know what they are doing, and this very well may be a management issue. It doesn't make any sense how they have so much time and money and so little to show for it. In the workplace this usually means there are a lot of people not doing their job and or there is horrible communication going on between teams and groups or people working on certain parts of the game/project. If it is just people slacking off then remove them from the company. If it's bad communication and management. Then Microsoft needs to put its foot down and take action right away. Because even if you give them a new IP or give them creative freedom to make a new game the same issues will surface as the problem (management and communication) was never addressed.

Really hope that this layoff will somehow turn out for the better of 343 and the Halo franchise as a whole. Halo is Microsoft's flagship title. Much like Mario is for Nintendo and ..... for Sony (lol)