Ex-Halo dev believes those who pushed for a better game ‘got laid off for it’

Following the announcement that Microsoft plans to cut thousands of jobs, the former Senior Multiplayer Designer for Halo has taken to Twitter to criticize the tech giant.

In a Twitter post, Patrick Wren claimed that Microsoft’s “incompetent leadership” caused stress on developers during the making of Halo Infinite and also resulted in the recent layoffs. 

“The layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened, and Halo Infinite should be in a better state,” Wren wrote. “The reason for both of those things is incompetent leadership up top during Halo Infinite development causing massive stress on those working hard to make Halo the best it can be.”

“The people I worked every day with were passionate about Halo and wanted to make something great for the fans,” Wren continued. “They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.”

Microsoft recently announced plans to cut over 10,000 jobs due to fears of a slowing global economy. 343 Industries isn’t the only game studio affected by the cuts, with Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios also reporting significant layoffs. 

More to come  

Despite Halo Infinite having released in November 2021, developer 343 Industries has still put time and effort into patching Master Chief’s latest adventure post-launch. The final Halo Infinite update for 2022, released in December, was one of the biggest in recent memory and added a new Arena multiplayer map called Empyrean based on the Halo 3 map, The Pit. The close-quarters arena featured two hut-style bases for flags on each side, with opposing towers for snipers and a central hall in the middle. However, 343 changed some elements of the original map to fit Halo Infinite’s style. Scrap Cannons replaced Machine gun turrets at each base, and weapon spawns have been updated to use Halo Infinite’s weapon racks. 

Along with various new armor core unlocks and new cadet coatings, 343 Industries also implemented networking improvements. These updates mean that damage dealt and received by players is now more consistent and manageable, as, in previous builds, it was possible for some Spartans to avoid harm by sliding.

While the future of this beloved series is still uncertain following Microsoft’s layoffs, Bloomberg reported that 343 Industries studio head, Pierre Hintze, reassured colleagues in an email that support for Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will continue. How that support will look, however, remains to be seen.

• Halo Infinite’s open world underwent ‘significant scaling back’ for launch