Halo veteran Joseph Staten is returning to help with Halo Infinite

A developer responsible for shaping the Halo universe is returning to the series. Joseph Staten, who worked as director of cinematics on the first three mainline Halo games at Bungie, among other roles, is temporarily joining 343 Industries as project lead for the Halo Infinite's campaign.

Staten joined Microsoft Studios in 2014. He was story director on Destiny before leaving Bungie, and since then has had a hand in several first-party Microsoft projects, including Killer Instinct, Quantum Break, ReCore and Crackdown 3, among others. Most recently, he's been working on the Dontnod / Microsoft collaboration Tell Me Why.

Staten won't be replacing any existing talent, though. "If you enjoy Halo’s storylines, characters, and overall universe, he’s definitely one of the key people you have to thank," reads the announcement on Halo Waypoint. "As product lead on Halo Infinite, however, Joseph will be focused on supporting the campaign team’s existing, talented, creative leaders and ensuring they have everything they need to create an awesome Halo game."

The blogpost also addresses rumors regarding Halo Infinite's release window and platform support. The game definitely won't be pushed to 2022, the post reads, nor will support for the original Xbox One be dropped.

These rumors follow the delay of Halo Infinite, which got its first gameplay reveal in July. It was widely considered underwhelming. Initially a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox Series X console, the game was then delayed into 2021.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.