Halo studio 343 Industries has faced some difficult moments this year with layoffs and a number of big-name departures including head of creative Joseph Staten.
It's raised questions about the future of Halo Infinite and also the franchise, but it seems the studio might already be on the road to recovery not long after its Season 4 launch - with former Halo Infinite gameplay animator Skai Chow returning.
Chow was originally at 343 Industries between June and September last year helping animate character rigs, performing motion capture, and cleaning up animation. The "huge Halo fan" has now returned to fulfill the following duties, according to his LinkedIn profile:
- Create and implement high quality animations for in-game characters
- Work closely with the gameplay animation lead and feature guardians to execute the defined animation style for the project
- Collaborate with other animators to deliver a consistent and high bar for animation quality
- Collaborate with other disciplines to deliver incredible character experiences
On social media he even teased how excited he was to share what he's working on for the "beloved game franchise":
Season 4 of Halo Infinite launched towards the end of June reintroducing Infection mode, adding ray traced sun shadows on Xbox and much more. You can catch up on this in our previous coverage. Halo: The Master Chief Collection was also updated earlier this week.
Comments 9
Wow 343 are finally hiring people who like Halo. What a crazy idea
Nice. A couple of things I’d like to see animated;
On the subject of Halo Infinite, kinda sad not to see Squad Battles on it, the new, temporary, game mode, brought up.
Just learned about it last night.
8v8(would kinda like to the 12v12 though), on three, classic, forges maps. Valhalla, Zanzibar, and Rat's Nest from Halo 3.
It was an absolute blast, and IMO, feels like what Halo Infinite had always been aiming for, but couldn't quite reach.
"I can't wait to share what I'm working on for my beloved game franchise."
Unless it's campaign/single-player-related, I can't pretend to be excited.
@BrilliantBill was just a sarcastic comment as 343 have a history of hiring people who actually dislike the franchise, as one of the old managers that has now been let go, thought that was a good idea, for some reason
@InterceptorAlpha Squad Battle mode really has seen universal praise. It speaks both to the strength of infinite’s gameplay and critically the map design of those maps.
I think I saw it best described that 343 is great at making focused competitive maps but these maps are hard fought and fun. They strike a great casual balance.
I hope 343 keeps this playlist as a permanent one and we get Blood Gulch and Headlong added soon.
@ParsnipHero If they kept it permanent and added nee maps like that, I honestly think I'd play Infinite on the regular again.
@InterceptorAlpha yes, I think that’s the consensus. It’s just good fun.
Being Halo Infinite to Unreal engine 5. I would for sure want to play some of that.
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