Confirmed by Bloomberg: Microsoft brings back Halo veteran Joseph Staten to get Infinite back on track

[TheGreatWhiteShark]

I can’t even imagine what the One version would look like, Xbox One was a really weak piece of software.

it would look exactly like this, only with dynamic 1080p instead of fixed 4k
then series x would receive its ray tracing update, etc etc

 

[Pallas]

it would look exactly like this, only with dynamic 1080p instead of fixed 4k
then series x would receive its ray tracing update, etc etc

It’s a bitter pill to swallow but 343 and Phil have no one to blame but themselves. This was the right choice, as bad as that choice may look.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

At this point I don't believe the art style can look next generation so I don't believe the game is out next year.

Art style isn't the problem. It's graphics fidelity and crappy quality textures and models/renders.

 

[Enjay]

Future headline: 343i offers up a sacrifice to satan for help with Halo Infinite.

 

[Data Ghost]

So the COVID excuse was BS? Who would have thought

Theres a lot more going on here than just Covid, much of which started at the foundations of this game long before anyone even heard of Covid-19.

 

[Vawn]

Good move on MS.

Looks like they're taking it serious now. Hopefully, this is a start to replace the diversity ar 343 with actual talent.

#TalentedDevLivesMatter

 

[Data Ghost]

It’s a bitter pill to swallow but 343 and Phil have no one to blame but themselves. This was the right choice, as bad as that choice may look.

I just don't understand how they didn't see this situation developing in the months and years leading up to the reveal. Unless they are one of those upbeat, always positive companies, who are too scared to single out individuals for failures, and go around telling each other what a great job is being done by everyone. I know those kinds of companies all too well.

 

[TheGreatWhiteShark]

It’s a bitter pill to swallow but 343 and Phil have no one to blame but themselves. This was the right choice, as bad as that choice may look.

when you are doing halo free multiplayer,
halo infinite should have just showcased a slayer firefight between pro teams, and offer a download of the video at 120fps
IMO xbox has wrong/untalented people doing the promotion

 

[Thirty7ven]

I just don't understand how they didn't see this situation developing in the months and years leading up to the reveal. Unless they are one of those upbeat, always positive companies, who are too scared to single out individuals for failures, and go around telling each other what a great job is being done by everyone. I know those kinds of companies all too well.

Simple answer is right answer. The people who make the decisions only care about marketing and wouldn't know a good game from a bad one.

I expect this was a total shock at Xbox HQ.

 

[jigglet]

I was going to buy a Series X for this game at launch.

lol same here

 

[INCUBASE]

lol same here

Can i ask, what were your expectations before the trailer dropped?

Was it being able to explore the ring/halo, ie open world. 4k 60fps with RT.

Genuinely serious here, no troll, I've never asked a halo fan, what the dream for a next gen halo would include and look like......a wish list, if you will

 

[Aidah]

I guess the game was at an even worse state than I imagined. Well, good luck I guess.

 

[jigglet]

Can i ask, what were your expectations before the trailer dropped?

Was it being able to explore the ring/halo, ie open world. 4k 60fps with RT.

Genuinely serious here, no troll, I've never asked a halo fan, what the dream for a next gen halo would include and look like......a wish list, if you will

I expected the graphics to be better.

But when I found out it was running at 120fps, I forgave most of it. A little polish and it'll be pretty much what I wanted. Graphics are mostly fine IMO.

I'm curious what makes you think the graphics are the reason I wouldn't buy the XBSX at launch? It's still the most powerful console on earth...

 

[Papacheeks]

Demo they showed was not from In-House I can confirm.

 

[Drunkensamurai]

343 has been working on HI for 5 years, 4 different teams, and now a new lead. WTF

 

[INCUBASE]

I expected the graphics to be better.

But when I found out it was running at 120fps, I forgave most of it. A little polish and it'll be pretty much what I wanted. Graphics are mostly fine IMO.

I'm curious what makes you think the graphics are the reason I wouldn't buy the XBSX at launch? It's still the most powerful console on earth...

I didn't know I was asking whether or not you'd buy it, only your expectations. Happy you're excited for xbx.

 

[Calverz]

Remember when he did the Destiny E3 reveal only to be fired by Bungie and 90% of his work be scrapped... ah good times. I trust Jo , he'll try and fix Halo.

Your point being?

 

[jigglet]

I didn't know I was asking whether or not you'd buy it, only your expectations. Happy you're excited for xbx.

The 120fps turned me from "WTF" to "ok, I get it".

I'm crazy about framerates so if that's the focus of the game, they have my full support.

But it missing launch - fuck that. I've bought enough consoles at launch with zero games to play. I'm not doing it this time. MS screwed this badly to be launching a console with no killer app. It was the only one advantage they had over Sony since all they have are meh games at launch (although I expect the overall PS5 library to be much better over time). It just blows my mind after XB1 they are this ill prepared.

 

[INCUBASE]

The 120fps turned me from "WTF" to "ok, I get it".

I'm crazy about framerates so if that's the focus of the game, they have my full support.

But it missing launch - fuck that. I've bought enough consoles at launch with zero games to play. I'm not doing it this time. MS screwed this badly to be launching a console with no killer app. It was the only one advantage they had over Sony since all they have are meh games at launch (although I expect the overall PS5 library to be much better over time). It just blows my mind after XB1 they are this ill prepared.

Have you ever played a game at above 60fps, like 120fps or 144fps+ or are you just use to console 60fps?

 

[OverHeat]

Hell fucking yeah!

 

[AGRacing]

I have to agree that Holiday 2021 is optimistic at this point. I certainly wouldn't be betting on it.

But that being said - I'm sure 343 and Microsoft have what they'd call a "long term plan" for content post-release - and optimistically perhaps he is there primarily for that purpose.

That's the best I can do.

 

[V4skunk]

Demo they showed was not from In-House I can confirm.

I've heard a few people say the same. They outsourced making a trailer to 3rd party

 

[jigglet]

Have you ever played a game at above 60fps, like 120fps or 144fps+ or are you just use to console 60fps?

I've moved mostly to PC now where I play at 144hz. It's amazing.

I thought there would be declining returns - like doubling 30 to 60 would be bigger than doubling 60 to 120 but....no, it's every bit as significant. It's the single most mind blowing improvment to graphics I've seen since Mario 64 first went to 3D to be honest. It's impressed me more than ray tracing or anything else I've seen before. Utterly stunning.

 

[Zekra Dezivad]

This project is such a mess I really want to know if they will succeed in turning things up.

 

[Mod of War]

Mod of War Delete thread. . Another thread present. **** these late sites. Sorry about that.

Merged them both.

 

[INCUBASE]

I've moved mostly to PC now where I play at 144hz. It's amazing.

I thought there would be declining returns - like doubling 30 to 60 would be bigger than doubling 60 to 120 but....no, it's every bit as significant. It's the single most mind blowing improvment to graphics I've seen since Mario 64 first went to 3D to be honest. It's impressed me more than ray tracing or anything else I've seen before. Utterly stunning.

Ah ok, didn't know if you'd experienced it, because yes, its 100% a game changer and worth praise, especially on a console seller like halo

 

[Papacheeks]

I've heard a few people say the same. They outsourced making a trailer to 3rd party

Yea, it was a demo. But they did not have a workable build of the game in-house. And now the contracted developer who did said demo is now making twitter posts on their collaboration with 343. I'll be surprised if this game comes out 2021.

Microsoft's first year is not looking good.

I hope that perfect dark game which I here is set in the world of perfect dark not a sequel to any of the previous entry's. And it's third person.

Hope it knocks people's socks off, same with Fable which I here is not as developed that a lot of us thought it was. Unless they just could not get a demo together because of covid but have a build pretty far along.

It sounds like they have not been in full production too long.

So everything that people like myself got banned for on reset, were right. That Microsoft's developers outside of maybe Ninja Theory, Obsidian are going to have games ready in the next couple years. Don't expect to see games until 2022-2023 at earliest.

 

[LordOfChaos]

Think Metroid 4, IMO. But MS is unlikely to have the balls to admit Halo: Infinite is being rebooted.

Not if it's launching in 2021 it's not. Metroid's reboot was announced a year ago and we still have nothing to see, games can take 3-4 years, the extra time for Infinite will surely be polish at this point, but maybe Joseph can have more input on expansions on the platform.

 

[Harlock]

We need Kathleen Kennedy out of Halo now.

Oh, sorry, wrong thread.

 

[V4skunk]

Not if it's launching in 2021 it's not. Metroid's reboot was announced a year ago and we still have nothing to see, games can take 3-4 years, the extra time for Infinite will surely be polish at this point, but maybe Joseph can have more input on expansions on the platform.

Metroid got announced 3 years ago. The announcement a year ago was when development moved to Retro Studios.

 

[LordOfChaos]

Metroid got announced 3 years ago. The announcement a year ago was when development moved to Retro Studios.

Not if it's launching in 2021 it's not. Metroid's reboot was announced a year ago and we still have nothing to see, games can take 3-4 years, the extra time for Infinite will surely be polish at this point, but maybe Joseph can have more input on expansions on the platform.

Is what I say. A full reboot would not happen in a year for Infinite is the point. Metroid started again from scratch in moving to Retro and we probably still won't see anything at least for another year, big games take 3-5 to make. Halo Infinite, if it's still launching 2021, won't see a full reboot from this, but rather polish on what they have and maybe more of Joseph's input on expansions.

 

[Flintty]

Joe is good news for long time Halo fans.

Joe's current role at MS seems to be more of Project Manager/Fixer/Get the game to ship w/ Crackdown 3 being the last major AAA release he worked on. He got brought onto that game late in development as well.

Seems like his talents are wasted as a ‘fixer upper’. Give the man his own project to lead instead of parachuting him in to clean up shit. Have it starting with H and ending with O.

This is good news though, I just hope it’s not too late.

 

[iHaunter]

But what about the ace "Diversity" team of talented individuals they cobbled together?

 

[DeaDPooL_jlp]

Really have nothing new to add. I don't particularly want Halo to fail, i'd like it come out and be blown away by it. It's just mind boggling how Xbox handled essentially the franchise that made them who they are today. It'll be interesting to see when they choose to re-reveal it again and notice the changes.

 

[Thicc Team Six]

Stop spreading FUD. Last major AAA release he worked on is MS Flight Simulator.

I don't believe he worked on flight sim. He is a big plane enthusiast-posts a lot of photos of him flying on the weekends. He has been working on Tell Me Why lately.


Not "spreading FUD". Long time Halo fan, check my post history. Not here to dunk on anyone with memes and one liners. Nor is this a way for me to say "lol xbox bad, PS good". I actually spend majority of my time on Xbox, my primary console. Only use PS4 for first party titles.

Every 343 FPS to date has either launched with less content than the Bungie titles or numerous bugs. I haven't been confident in this game at any point. There is absolutely some talent at the studio and I am a huge believer in the newest lead, Chris Lee. Dan Chosich, who I am also a fan of, talked about wanting to live up to Bungie's titles. To date I don't believe that 343 has done that with any project. I think there is a layer of friction regarding Halo's identity at the studio. I've written about it a length. There are some absolute rockstars at the studio but seemingly there is a problem with the studio's focus. I wish they could get things in order; I'd like to have a great Halo game to play.

 

[Kev Kev]

half a billion dollars and all that personnel and this one dude is going to come in and save the day?

anyone else not convinced? forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is he going to do? actual question, im not being snarky. the numbers just dont compute when im looking at all of 343i and all their 100's of millions of dollars, and then there is this one dude. can someone explain why we are going to throw praise at this one fuckin guy when there is an entire team that that guy will be working with?

im being sincere, i know this post is coming off really snarky and condescending, but i dunno how to not sound like that when asking those kind of questions. i mean, he is just one fucking guy, and he's not god so....? i think i read one of the halo books he wrote, but other than that and a couple of bungie ved videos for halo 3 back in the day,i have no idea who he is or why he is like the second coming of christ for halo people lol, sorry

 

[Hendrick's]

Demo they showed was not from In-House I can confirm.

Which demo? The Craig one?

 

[IntentionalPun]

TBH the only thing we know about this game is that it's open world, and that the graphics were mediocre.

For all we know there is still a great game to be played, MS delayed because of the graphics, but said "fuck it lets polish the story too".

Just trying to be optimistic a little bit lol

(TBH I'm expecting the game to be mediocre, but there's still a chance.. open world Halo sounds rad to me, and this game is supposedly bigger than Halo 4 and 5 combined, we've seen like 10 minutes of a boring section)

 

[JLB]

2021 release almost impossible then.

 

[Quazar77]

1. This game ant coming out next year lol
2. As much as its a great get, one player on your team doesnt change the entire roster

Exactly. It takes a while and a lot of peeps to make a complete 180 on such a huge boat

 

[kuncol02]

I don't believe he worked on flight sim. He is a big plane enthusiast-posts a lot of photos of him flying on the weekends. He has been working on Tell Me Why lately.


Not "spreading FUD". Long time Halo fan, check my post history. Not here to dunk on anyone with memes and one liners. Nor is this a way for me to say "lol xbox bad, PS good". I actually spend majority of my time on Xbox, my primary console. Only use PS4 for first party titles.

Every 343 FPS to date has either launched with less content than the Bungie titles or numerous bugs. I haven't been confident in this game at any point. There is absolutely some talent at the studio and I am a huge believer in the newest lead, Chris Lee. Dan Chosich, who I am also a fan of, talked about wanting to live up to Bungie's titles. To date I don't believe that 343 has done that with any project. I think there is a layer of friction regarding Halo's identity at the studio. I've written about it a length. There are some absolute rockstars at the studio but seemingly there is a problem with the studio's focus. I wish they could get things in order; I'd like to have a great Halo game to play.

Joseph Staten Video Game Credits and Biography - MobyGames

Joseph Staten has been credited on games developed by the following companies: Bungie, LLC, Ensemble Studios Corporation, 343 Industries, Inc., Sumo Digital Ltd (Sheffield), Asobo Studio S.A.R.L., Remedy Entertainment Plc., Forgotten Empires LLC, Tantalus Media Pty Ltd., Insomniac Games, Inc...

www.mobygames.com

Now is time when you say "I'm sorry".

 

[iconmaster]

On the one hand, that's great news.

On the other hand, ho boy this game is in some trouble eh?

Think Metroid 4, IMO. But MS is unlikely to have the balls to admit Halo: Infinite is being rebooted.

Good point. Nintendo had a general manager of game development get on video and say outright, "It wasn't working out. We're sorry, but we have to start over." Nintendo is a very secretive company so I really appreciate their transparency on that one.

 

[Thicc Team Six]

Seems like his talents are wasted as a ‘fixer upper’. Give the man his own project to lead instead of parachuting him in to clean up shit. Have it starting with H and ending with O.

This is good news though, I just hope it’s not too late.

Joe would be an excellent studio lead. I am not sure that he would want that level of pressure though. The impression I get is that he enjoys more of an advisement role, especially after everything that happened leading up to his departure from the Destiny project. Can't say I blame him. I think his role on publishing side lets him enjoy rotating through projects of different sizes vs. being heads down AAA dev cycle over and over.

Now is time when you say "I'm sorry".

He is part of Microsoft's Publishing Team so he will be credited on anything that they produce but that doesn't mean he was involved in the day to day. I believe he was pretty involved in the day to day on Crackdown 3 all the way up through the last bit of post-launch content in summer of 2019. This year he has primarily been working with Don't Nod on Tell Me Why. I don't think the was that involved in Flight Simulator beyond the publishing credit. I am not sure that really meets the threshold of what we were talking about, this level of development and operational involvement like he is presumably going to have with Halo. I don't think he is the reason Crackdown 3 was poorly received. My impression is that he helped them get the game over the line and out the door. If you'd rather, I could say the last time he really rolled up his sleeves to get things moving on a AAA title was Crackdown 3.

It's not "FUD". Joe is one of my favorite people in the industry. He wrote my favorite game, Halo 2 (up there w/ ALTTP). If anyone knows and understands Halo it is Joe.

It is certainly not "FUD" to believe that the fact that they are bringing in additional leadership might indicate that the game was not in a great place. If you wish to choose to believe that everything at 343 is fine then so be it. I think myself and others can point to a decade of decisions that were largely unpopular with hardcore Halo fans.

Is there hyperbole from console warriors? Certainly, but thats not me. If what I am doing is "FUD" then I'll continue "spread FUD" where "FUD" is due. I try to take an unbiased approach. I will critique games, especially franchises I enjoy, as they deserve it. If this were a Sony studio called "Drake Studios" and they were struggling to make Uncharted 5 you can bet that I would be saying the same thing.

 

[NullZ3r0]

How embarrassing for all this publicly play out, 343 have been incompetent and Phil as the overall leader of Xbox should have managed the scenario better.

calamity in the face of launch with their premier franchise, customer confidence it does not instill.

From dropping sales, reviews, MCC disaster and now this.....Halo has been slowly beat down under Phil and 343.

clowns

Phil manages the Xbox business as a whole. Microsoft other studios are doing great and the hardware team built an awesome machine. Matt Booty manages the studios, but this is all on 343. They always bite off more than they can chew and run into problems. As much as I admire Bonnie Ross, this is her baby.

 

[Papacheeks]

Which demo? The Craig one?

Yes. Supposedly it was made not with Slipstream. Or if it was the contracted developers were able to get 343's engine running unlike 343 themselves.

I feel this game is not coming out in 2021. If it is, there are going to be dramatic changes. This in my eyes sheds a light to the issues MS has had all along.

Phil manages the Xbox business as a whole. Microsoft other studios are doing great and the hardware team built an awesome machine. Matt Booty manages the studios, but this is all on 343. They always bite off more than they can chew and run into problems. As much as I admire Bonnie Ross, this is her baby.

Phil was still running the studios and xbox software part of it when halo 5, halo mcc were put out. So project wise he had years of overlooking 343's progress.

No, sorry.

This is a long time coming. Maybe the new studios under new management will be fine. But 343 has a long history of issues that was never fixed. ANd I pray to god the contract work get's lessened over time.

 

[VertigoOA]

I can't think of another dumpster fire of a mega project like that in media... Maybe the justice league movie?

Disney’s Sequel Trilogy.

343’s Halo efforts are a bit more of a disaster however.

 

[jigglet]

But what about the ace "Diversity" team of talented individuals they cobbled together?

If they're anything like most "progressive" companies I've seen, they're probably also echoing the "work life balance" mantra. I've never been on a project before where I haven't had to do long stretches of 12-15 hours a day to get shit done. Fuck this anti-crunch bullshit. Sometimes it's the only way to make things happen. I get paid well for crunch, the business gets their shit delivered. Win / win.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

I'm putting together a team

 

[Gamerguy84]

I would be pissed off if I were this guy.

It feels like a lot of unrealistic expectations just got put on his shoulders.

Id also hate to be working at 343 as the gaming community has labeled them all idiots, when Im sure they have a lot of fine talent.

 

[kuncol02]

Joe would be an excellent studio lead. I am not sure that he would want that level of pressure though. The impression I get is that he enjoys more of an advisement role, especially after everything that happened leading up to his departure from the Destiny project. Can't say I blame him. I think his role on publishing side lets him enjoy rotating through projects of different sizes vs. being heads down AAA dev cycle over and over.



He is part of Microsoft's Publishing Team so he will be credited on anything that they produce but that doesn't mean he was involved in the day to day. I believe he was pretty involved in the day to day on Crackdown 3 all the way up through the last bit of post-launch content in summer of 2019. This year he has primarily been working with Don't Nod on Tell Me Why. I don't think the was that involved in Flight Simulator beyond the publishing credit. I am not sure that really meets the threshold of what we were talking about, this level of development and operational involvement like he is presumably going to have with Halo. I don't think he is the reason Crackdown 3 was poorly received. My impression is that he helped them get the game over the line and out the door. If you'd rather, I could say the last time he really rolled up his sleeves to get things moving on a AAA title was Crackdown 3.

It's not "FUD". Joe is one of my favorite people in the industry. He wrote my favorite game, Halo 2 (up there w/ ALTTP). If anyone knows and understands Halo it is Joe.

It is certainly not "FUD" to believe that the fact that they are bringing in additional leadership might indicate that the game was not in a great place. If you wish to choose to believe that everything at 343 is fine then so be it. I think myself and others can point to a decade of decisions that were largely unpopular with hardcore Halo fans.

Is there hyperbole from console warriors? Certainly, but thats not me. If what I am doing is "FUD" then I'll continue "spread FUD" where "FUD" is due. I try to take an unbiased approach. I will critique games, especially franchises I enjoy, as they deserve it. If this were a Sony studio called "Drake Studios" and they were struggling to make Uncharted 5 you can bet that I would be saying the same thing.

He is as much involved as he was in Crackdown 3. Stop spreading FUD. In both games he has exactly same credit as Senior Creative Director from Microsoft Studios: Global Publishing Team. His role was pretty much same in almost every MS first party game made by external developer.