Ex-Halo Infinite developers criticize "incompetent leadership" at Microsoft following layoffs

"The layoffs at 343 shouldn't have happened and Halo Infinite should be in a better state," he said on Twitter. "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. They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.

"Devs still there are working hard on that dream. Look at Forge. Be kind to them during this awful time."

He added in another tweet: "I do want to make sure that I call out how amazing the Multiplayer Leadership team was during development."

Thoughts, System Wars?

Source

Halo Infinite was a horribly managed mess.

The mechanics are good, real good. But the content left a lot to be desired. And the monetization was questeionable to say the least.

I would love it if MS could salvage the good, and just make a new game. It has been 2 years and I dont think we will be seeing an A Realm Reborn comeback.

@Juub1990: I don't buy it.

343 was going to release Halo: Infinite with "Halo Craig" graphics. Backlash forced them to improve the visuals. However, the tweaks to the engine made it harder to add post-launch content. MS spent a lot of money on that game, and senior management at 343 caused this problem.

Halo Infinite is a ton of fun to play, and looks "decent". A lot of it's problems are self-inflicted by 343. That guy should be criticizing Bonnie Ross, not MS leadership.

I deserve respect from everyone that was brainlessly shilling this game around launch. I predicted it all way before the game was even released. Respect me. I know what i am talking about.

That sucks to hear. I really enjoyed both the campaign and multiplayer of Halo Infinite but there was definitely a lack of content for the multiplayer at launch. Hopefully some lessons have been learned and we’ll see better results in the future.

0_0

I really do, dude. I deserve it.

Good single player, they managed to save it. I don't care for the multiplayer but in that front they clearly failed.

I expect to hear of 343i being shuttered or regulated to a support studio within the year.

For all their games coming up- Redfall and Starfield have no release dates.

Forza will be Forza- Microsoft's one surefire solid game.

We still know basically nothing about State of Decay 3 or Hellblade 2 or Indiana Jones or Outer Worlds 2.

Everwild, Fable, and Perfect Dark are all reportedly having troubled development.

Microsoft Studios basically had nothing for 2022. Seems very mismanaged indeed.

I'm not going to lie, I've worked in a few different industries and it's not just Microsoft. I have yet to meet any form of executive management that actually knows processes or operations for the businesses they "run". They're usually just dead weight absorbing company funds and bonuses while the groundwork employees do all the heavy lifting. They want to be thought of as "leadership" but leaders typically lead by example, not sacrifice followers to please shareholders.

It has been known long before the initial 1 year delay. The glassdoor reviews were full of same complaints about heavy contracting, lack of direction and frequent changes /contract terminations to keep costs down. I called i back then that a year delay won't be able to do any good.

Anyone who couldn't see this from a mile away, were simply being delusional. Every step of the process, from announcement, to reveal, and then launch, was flawed in some way or another. And all the people that defended this trainwreck, need to take a serious look in the mirror. This "everything is great" attitude, plus shareholder input, has led us here.

Haha, you are like our own personal Troll-stradamus. When the world is soft, the only solution is to get... hard.

Xbox Game Studios can barely manage AAA teams; good thing Bethesda is still in charge of their teams.

At some point you need to step back and realize how truly delusional you sound. A developer working directly for Microsoft has called out how shitty upper management is at Xbox. He has direct experience vs your feelings.

ZERO releases in 2022 should have been enough to make you wake up. MS has an issue with managing studios.

It would have came from Xbox or "Microsoft Gaming" as they still run Zenimax / Bethesda.

That being said, the directive to start looking for people to cut very likely came from the Microsoft C-Suite.

Not surprised given the state of the Halo franchise right now.

Quiet, alt-boy. Adults are talking here.

The criticism,the half game at launch and horizon forbidden west and Ragnarok still couldn't outscore it.

Cows can only dream of having a franchise so big.

Keep dreaming

Ugh, that's gotta sting MS fans, watching as their company fall to pieces. Sad day for Lems.

Microshit is up there with EA, scum company. But you still have your cheerleaders on SW, pathetic people honestly.

They sure are. Maybe listen to them for once fangirl

@randy_lahey: I mean... how many times do you have to get owned before you shut your yapper?

This is a guy who got fired, and decided to be immature enough to take his grievances to Twitter. He's not the most rational or credible of people (at the moment, at least). However, someone on the outside can look at this objectively and draw a different conclusion.

If he was thinking rationally, he would have stopped himself because other potential employers will have seen what he just did. It was a pretty stupid thing to do.

spot on!

Whether this detail is true or not, the following remains true

• Halo Infinite was delayed 1 year
• Halo Infinite was released incomplete despite the delay
• Forge was delayed another 9 months
• Co-op, a core feature in Halo was also delayed 9 months
• Halo Infinite is the worst valued Halo game that has ever been released
• Ray tracing is still missing in action

Sounds like mismanagement to me. Not sure how and why because despite my dislike to Halo 4 and 5, they were complete. Who is responsible for this recent mess? 🤷🏽‍♀️

dabear a bit salty today.

Exactly when have I “been owned”? Only people I see being owned are MS fannies such as yourself. Xbox keeps handing out Ls to you poor guys lmao!!

I still think the root of Halo Infinite's issues stem from them developing it while also developing the PC version of the Halo MCC.

I've seen blame passed off to leadership though that's ambiguous whether they mean at 343 or Microsoft at large. Regardless of who was in charge at 343 I don't think they could have done their best work while putting the Halo MCC on PC at the same time.

Now that they're done with both I don't particularly feel 343 needs a shake-up, they just need not be over-burdened trying to juggle different large projects.

Lol, and people want these clowns to own Activision?

only Xbox fannies want this. After all these years the incompetence at MS is simply becoming too much to sweep under the rug

Not surprising given the severe lack of games from MS.

I was told with Gamepass u don't need traditional sales 🤔

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I basically agree with all of that, clearly some (alot of) mismanagement going on but I think 343 have to shoulder some of the blame for where Halo has ended up as well, Combat evolved through Reach all under MS all developed by Bungie and literally all feature complete enjoyable games, 343 have had multiple attempts at the IP and they cannot get it right, I'm positive bad management at MS has played a big role in that but I'm also certain 343 itself is not without blame.

:P

@sonny2dap: The MS mismanagement of 343 is a hard sell. Also 343 being generally incompetent also doesn’t make much sense. This issue is a more recent problem with the studios' output. More specifically post Halo 5. I am not sure what triggered the issues with 343 since Halo 5 but a wild guess could be the handling of too many projects such as the creation of a new engine, Infinite development and MCC? It can also be something entirely different. 🤷‍♂️

@randy_lahey: @randy_lahey: Bro, you are shut down daily - because your comments are the worst examples of fanboy drivel.

You're cannon fodder, practice for more riveting, stimulating debate.

Lol dabear. You’re the biggest MS stooge on this forum, rushing to MS’s defence at any opportunity defending anything perceived as a slight against Microsoft. Sad!

That's just it - I'm not. I defend MS, yes - but that is against fanboy attacks. Is MS defensible for Halo Infinite being a failed live service that was supposed to be comparable to Destiny 2? YES. But, does that mean Halo Infinite is a shitty game, and has zero gamers playing the traditional multiplayer? NO.

Should MS receive criticism for not releasing any 1st party "bangers" for 9 months? Yes - they should have planned better. Is it the end of the world? No, because those games are coming this year.

Does Sony deserve praise for releasing games like GoW:R, R&C, and HFW? Yes. Does that mean I want to play games like that? No (if I did, I'd have a PS5).

So, yeah - I defend MS from asinine fanboy arguments. But, I don't "worship" MS. They aren't "above criticism" from me. In fact, back in the day, I wanted the govt to break up Microsoft because embedding Internet Explorer into Windows was absolutely a predatory move.

And some people want them to buy Activision/Blizzard?

I always wondered about gamepass. Maybe it could work if MS released more games, who knows.

I have no idea what MS is trying to do with Xbox or Game Pass. Is it supposed to be a long term money loss venture made to drive the market away from Sony at any cost? Because it's not working, and it's expensive. Actual real jobs are being lost now and projects are flatlining. Is everything really on ABK now to save the brand? And if they do acquire them, what will be their fate if future CoD releases do so-so numbers?

Bu bu but 9/10 GS score

Bu bu but 87 meta score

Not sure I buy the "MS Leadership" blame. 343i have been struggling for a long time, yet other MS studios haven't. Lets be honest, Forza Horizon 5 is vastly more ambitious.

343i we've been told, has failed to hit the mark since they've started.

I can't blame MS for cutting jobs at the studio. People keep reminding us how long they've had with Halo Infinite in development and it apparently still is. Well they've failed to get it together and running a studio is expensive.

Ex 343i staff can blame everyone else, but these are the guys that thought releasing a trailer of Halo Infinite looking like shit was a good idea. The MCC was a shit show and that was just a compilation. How can a compilation of games take so long just to get functional.

I know the cows want to blame MS, because that's teh winnings. But MS gave 343i all the time they wanted and a colossal budget.

Also the cows can kinda stfu. 9 years PD had and GT7 is what they came out with? And no damage, really? :-S

Toca Race Driver 2 has damage. Forza ONE has damage. The **** kind of sim doesn't have damage in 2023?

Other studios haven't? Tell me what happened with Fable, Everwild and Perfect Dark.

Yeah, Booty and Spencer ALLOWED Halo Infinite showcase.

I know the cows want to blame MS, because that's teh winnings. But MS gave 343i all the time they wanted and a colossal budget.

Also the cows can kinda stfu. 9 years PD had and GT7 is what they came out with? And no damage, really? :-S

Toca Race Driver 2 has damage. Forza ONE has damage. The **** kind of sim doesn't have damage in 2023?

GTS and GT7? And both games are success. But no need to point finger at Sony because MS is incompetent to managing their own studios. That's desperation