Former Halo writer Joseph Staten returns to work on Halo Infinite

Source: Xbox Game Studios

Recently we heard from our sources (now confirmed by the man himself) that Joseph Staten, one of the original minds behind the Halo universe, is joining with 343 Industries to work on Halo Infinite. Specifically, Staten is working as the project lead for the game’s campaign.

In regards to Halo, Staten previously served as Bungie’s director of cinematics and was responsible for mission scripts and cutscene dialogue in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach. Additionally, he provided the voice for Halo 3: ODST’s Superintendent as well as the Covenant’s Grunt enemies — a role he took on once again in Halo 5: Guardians. Lastly, he also wrote Halo: Shadow of Intent, a short-story included in the 2015 Halo anthology book Halo: Fractures.

In addition to all of his previous work on Halo, Staten has also significantly to several projects over the years while acting as the Senior Creative Director for Xbox Game Studios. Some of his recent endeavors include working on the 2016 sci-fi adventure title ReCore, contributing to the action-packed Crackdown 3, and assisting DONTNOD Entertainment with its upcoming Xbox and Windows 10 exclusive Tell Me Why.

I’m thrilled to join @Halo to help them ship Halo Infinite. As the project lead for the Infinite Campaign, I will be supporting the team’s existing, great leaders and empowering them to do their best work. https://t.co/pQiNPQVBZs

— Joseph Staten (@joestaten) August 27, 2020

According to our sources, the involvement of Staten with Halo Infinite is a move meant to provide more expertise to the development of the game. Additionally, Pierre Hintze, the head of Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s publishing team, is also joining the Halo Infinite team as project lead for the game’s free-to-play experience.

Overall, as someone who loves a lot of what Staten has done for Halo so far, I’m excited to see what he contributes to Halo Infinite. What are your thoughts? Let me know down below.

Halo Infinite is currently expected to launch sometime in 2021 on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Windows 10 PCs. It was initially slated to release in the Holiday 2020 season, but it was ultimately delayed, which was a decision that we thought was the right move. If you want to play some Halo right now, though, we highly recommend Halo: The Master Chief Collection.