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[Draugoth]

According to Official Sources from Axios, IGN, Polygon, Stephen Totilo, Microsoft has confirmed Frank O'Connor's departure from Microsoft and 343 Industries.

"We thank Frank for his numerous contributions to the Halo franchise and wish him well going forward," a Microsoft spokesperson reportedly said

Longtime Halo Developer Frank O'Connor's Departure Confirmed by Microsoft - IGN

Microsoft confirmed that Frank O'Connor has departed after 20 years with the Halo series.

www.ign.com

Microsoft confirms the departure of longtime Halo franchise director Frank O'Connor, who worked on Master Chief's games for two decades: "We thank Frank for his numerous contributions to the Halo franchise and wish him well going forward."

Corrine Robinson is Frank O' Connor's replacement, someone who has been working at 343 for 13+ years​

 

[Spyxos]

Another one?

 

[Luigi Mario]

 

[Dick Jones]

Finally some positive Xbox news.

 

[feynoob]

MS is commited to their new role.
Halo got a house clearance.

I wonder, who is going to take the mantle now.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Clean house then.

 

[BrutalTruth_]

Good, purge the studio

 

[BennyBlanco]

Get fucked S Stinkles

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

 

[Iced Arcade]

Yeah obviously they are taking infinite failure pretty serious.

Infinite wasn't terrible but wasn't a quarter of what people expected nor what they promised. Definitely not how you treat your mascot franchise.

 

[solidus12]

What the hell is going on there?

 

[killatopak]

I mean cleaning house is nice and all but I hope they have plans to fill in those roles with competent people.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Here is hoping Corrine is more in sync with what fans love about the franchise and not another 343 executive without a real quality vision for Halo. Best of luck to her.

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

Another one?

Get rid of them all!

 

[diffusionx]

the crazy thing is that it seems like MS gave 343 a year to put Shitfinite on a sustainable path forward and they just fucked it up even worse and got nothing but bad press. Good riddance, any longtime veteran of that place should be gone. They really need to start over.

 

[Sakura]

I used to like him back when he was just the content manager at Bungie. No idea how he ended up in the position he was in at 343 though.

 

[stickkidsam]

His inability to safeguard Halo was a colossal failure.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Here is hoping Corrine is more in sync with what fans love about the franchise and not another 343 executive without a real quality vision for Halo. Best of luck to her.

She reported to Frankie during her time there...

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

She reported to Frankie during her time there...

Here's a little snippet of something I wrote in an unrelated thread about Bonnie's 343. I truly hope Corrine doesn't head down that same route with the franchise but my concerns and take remain much the same for the moment. Fingers crossed the franchise is going to good hands or the games themselves are being made by those with an awesome vision for Halo and its games.

Here's a point, was Bonnie Ross better at Halo than say Jason Jones? Would I choose Bonnie helming Halo over Jones and all that entails? Fuck no. Give me JJs fucking Halo every time. Do I think Bonnie would do far better with a more "predominantly female demographic/franchise". Fuck yes I do.

Am I for the industry supporting more games, devs, diversity, characters etc? Fuck yes. That doesn't mean handing over Halo with its traditionally male zeitgeist right-of-passage in console gaming over to be the transformative force for diversity change and sticking to your guns for 20 years in the face of failure time and time again. 343 succeeded in terms of workplace diversity etc but failed fucking hard in terms of standing up to anything from the previous so called "male dominated" Halo games.

The opposite is also true, but I don't see any such things from these forces for change. SIMS is clearly built around women, or at least balanced better than gaming of old. The same goes for Farmville or Animal Crossing etc. What is wrong with specificity? It seems to it make more sense having guys helm bloke dominant games and women/others helm projects that align with their core values or games etc. Is it possible for the opposite to be true and women can spearhead games for guys or other identifying genders etc? Sure. Is it likely? Probably not and I think Bonnie/343/Halo really highlights things didn't align for Halo specifically.

Case in point my daughter would rather build her own characters and be empowered that way with flexibility to play different roles at any time. A fixed character design, while those may work for story or character-based games, isn't generally a lot of what is played looking at my own family/friends ladies and what they're playing over 10-25 years with generational differences too.

The facts are blokes play Halo by a very fucking large margin. Ladies wouldn't want some bogan bloke directing the latest ladies hot game franchise now would they?

 

[LordOfChaos]

So...Do yall think we'll ever get major single player DLC for Infinite, or is it just burn the old and move on to the next thing in a few more years when they figure out who'll do it?

God it'll suck if we never get the Master Chief saga resolved in-game and it just goes for a reboot after a few years

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

So...Do yall think we'll ever get major single player DLC for Infinite, or is it just burn the old and move on to the next thing in a few more years when they figure out who'll do it?

God it'll suck if we never get the Master Chief saga resolved in-game and it just goes for a reboot after a few years

No, it was shit canned for campaign expansions and no studio resources are working on campaign stuff.

It's one of the worst aspects of 343's Halo games. All this talk of trilogy then saga then 10 years plan for Infinite. Fuck all continuity and no vision hacks. Now we're not getting Halo campaign for a long time, and after waiting now 7 years since Infinite's dev started. Pretty piss poor management of the universe.

The TV show will likely be the next instalment of the silver universe, and that is utter garbage and I'll not be watching season 2. Given the hell Infinite development was in and the current state of the "shitspace" engine I doubt there is any surprise Halo spin off or game releases in the upcoming Xbox Showcase either. The only real opportunity is Max Hoberman's Tatanka spin off that was rumoured to have switched away from 343's slipspace engine to Unreal 5 and current status is unknown.

 

[Del_X]

He directed his career into the ground along with the franchise.

 

[Gravemind]

Good.

 

[Elder Legend]

Bye you racist politcial twat bitch.

Time to round up my staff for a hit piece on him

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

MS is commited to their new role.
Halo got a house clearance.

I wonder, who is going to take the mantle now.

I think is already public

 

[Azurro]

Meet the new diversity hire, same as the old diversity hire that just left. Or at least, I hope that is not the case for Halo fans.

 

[nush]

No idea how he ended up in the position he was in at 343 though.

The Peter Principle in action.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Good stuff Xbox. Torch it all.

Halo deservers a studio dedicated to restoring the franchise to its former glory. I'm talking Halo 3 levels of awesomeness.

I believe !

 

[Gobjuduck]

Good news, now let new talent at 343 experiment with a game that isn’t halo. Let the big boys at Id and treyarch attempt halo in a whole new way.

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

I used to like him back when he was just the content manager at Bungie. No idea how he ended up in the position he was in at 343 though.

He obviously sucked at the new job.

This also goes on Phil too; he stood idly by while watching them turn Halo from a flagship, revolutionary title to a joke and a relic.

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

Good news, now let new talent at 343 experiment with a game that isn’t halo. Let the big boys at Id and treyarch attempt halo in a whole new way.

Not a particularly bad idea.

Personally, they should give Halo a serious rest, until they're certain they have something that is as great as Halo used to be.

 

[Godot25]

Good riddance.
He should not have been hired for that position in the first place.
While I miss Staten I really won't miss O Connor, Bonnie Ross and other people that are responsible for where Halo currently is.
Hope, that new regime led by guy that "saved" Halo MCC can right the ship.

 

[Assaulty]

He obviously sucked at the new job.

This also goes on Phil too; he stood idly by while watching them turn Halo from a flagship, revolutionary title to a joke and a relic.

I actually agree with this. I think, were 343/Halo a Sony studio/franchise, the franchise probably would've been better of as it is now. Microsofts loose management style works for very well structured teams like Playground, Turn 10 and the Coalition to some extent, but is absolutely terrible if you don't have the correct people (read, entire upper management at 343) in place. It's actually impressive how Microsoft stood idly by how their biggest franchise has turned into nothing more than a niche product for fans with enough copium left.

All that said tho, I still believe all it takes is 1 amazing, content rich game to get Halo back into the spotlights. I just don't think 343/Microsoft is capable of doing so.

 

[intheinbetween]

Just imagine a new Halo team formed by members from idSoftware, Arkane and Treyarch, dayum!

 

[Godot25]

It's actually impressive how Microsoft stood idly by how their biggest franchise has turned into nothing more than a niche product for fans with enough copium left.

I think it's just about money. Halo 4, Halo 5 and even MCC (albeit broken at launch) made a lot of money and sold well, so all development and direction problems could be swept under the rug. And it's not like Spencer/Booty are browsing Halo reddit to get their information on state of Halo games. It was Infinite and it's lack of success was straw that broke the camel back. That's why there are sweeping changes now and not before.

But overall I agree that Microsoft went from extreme (too hands on with game studios) to another extreme (too hands off with game studios) and while studios that were previously independent (Ninja Theory, Obsidian, PG, Double Fine) can handle it because they are used to it, it is cleary hurting some OG studios with shaky management.

But I like fact that new management recognised one huge problem with proprietary engine and are switching to UE. I just hope that they will be able to keep Halo "feel" on new engine.

 

[ZehDon]

The franchise direction O'Connor put Halo on was wrong from day one. After Halo 5 nearly sunk the franchise, O'Connor went pretty quiet, at least until the TV Show rolled around. Given Infinite's "spiritual reboot" status, and how far it deviated from the direction O'Connor put Halo on with 4 and 5, I'm not sure how much he ultimately had to do with Infinite. In any case, glad to see the back of him for this role, hope he finds better success in his next one.

And, really, best of luck to the poor souls who now have to pick up the Halo pieces. The lore is in tatters, the narrative is beyond a joke, and the community are fresh out fucks to give. Infinite was 343i's last chance, its redemption story - the community won't give them an inch ever again. The poor people coming in to helm 343i after Ross, Wolfkill, and O'Connor drove Halo into the fucking ground will have to make one of the greatest video games of all time - literally - just to win back some fans and repair some of the damage 343i has done to Halo. And, given Microsoft's current output, I don't think the organisation as a whole has any clue how to even start that. I doubt we'll see a new Halo game for a long, long time.

 

[kuncol02]

But overall I agree that Microsoft went from extreme (too hands on with game studios) to another extreme (too hands off with game studios) and while studios that were previously independent (Ninja Theory, Obsidian, PG, Double Fine) can handle it because they are used to it, it is cleary hurting some OG studios with shaky management.

They literally had 4 studios before acquisitions started in 2018. 343, Coalition, Turn 10 and Mojang . Three of them don't have any problems with management.

 

[Godot25]

They literally had 4 studios before acquisitions started in 2018. 343, Coalition, Turn 10 and Mojang . Three of them don't have any problems with management.

343, The Coalition (formerly Black Tusk), Rare, Turn 10, Mojang, Lionhead

TC seems doing fine from start, Mojang was limited integration and was first "hands-off" studio. Rare was fine from commercial side of things and also they released steady slate of games (albeit they had Kinect period), Turn 10 seems fine and Lionhead was killed due to internal and external factors (mandate that their next game have co-op and live service elements). And story of 343 is well known.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Here's a little snippet of something I wrote in an unrelated thread about Bonnie's 343. I truly hope Corrine doesn't head down that same route with the franchise but my concerns and take remain much the same for the moment. Fingers crossed the franchise is going to good hands or the games themselves are being made by those with an awesome vision for Halo and its games.



The facts are blokes play Halo by a very fucking large margin. Ladies wouldn't want some bogan bloke directing the latest ladies hot game franchise now would they?

I don't think people care about the genitals or sexual preferences of who makes their games as long as the quality is there. That being said, I think Bonnie totally staffed her company to focus more on balanced representation vs hiring people who truly loved Halo and were the best they could possibly hire for the role. In hindsight of what is happening now, I feel she had alternative motives in how she ran 343i instead of focusing on her damn job and making sure the legacy passed on from Bungie stayed intact. She was asleep at the wheel on a lot of stuff , didn't understand, or just flat out did not care.

I wish Corrine the best, though, and hope for the best as we all need it.

 

[j.k.2021]

Not a particularly bad idea.

Personally, they should give Halo a serious rest, until they're certain they have something that is as great as Halo used to be.

Hard to do these steps when you only have 4 first party studios.

 

[kuncol02]

343, The Coalition (formerly Black Tusk), Rare, Turn 10, Mojang, Lionhead

TC seems doing fine from start, Mojang was limited integration and was first "hands-off" studio. Rare was fine from commercial side of things and also they released steady slate of games (albeit they had Kinect period), Turn 10 seems fine and Lionhead was killed due to internal and external factors (mandate that their next game have co-op and live service elements). And story of 343 is well known.

I totally forget that Lionhead existed. To be fair without Molyneux they were as good as not existing IMO, but this still show that there is no problem with management in old studios, because only 343 has problems (Lionhead was killed before MS started with hands-off approach).

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I don't think people care about the genitals or sexual preferences of who makes their games as long as the quality is there. That being said, I think Bonnie totally staffed her company to focus more on balanced representation vs hiring people who truly loved Halo and were the best they could possibly hire for the role. In hindsight of what is happening now, I feel she had alternative motives in how she ran 343i instead of focusing on her damn job and making sure the legacy passed on from Bungie stayed intact. She was asleep at the wheel on a lot of stuff , didn't understand, or just flat out did not care.

I wish Corrine the best, though, and hope for the best as we all need it.

A fair take, and one I follow as well, zero care for whichever gender or identify etc. Doesn't bother me, just the likelihood of military, blokes and Halo really doesn't lend itself to ladies taking the lead. I believe the leadership team and Bonnie had passion and worked bloody hard but just not aligned with the hardcore nature of FPS Halo audience for multiplayer or lore/campaign. Passion alone isn't lightning in a bottle, by comparison to Bungie and Jason Jones Halo games it's night and day across the board.

A vision and clear leader of the Halo sub types of games is sorely needed. I believe Max Hoberman is such a proven Halo resource for multiplayer and online. As for campaign and the franchise at large the lightning is yet to strike.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

A fair take, and one I follow as well, zero care for whichever gender or identify etc. Doesn't bother me, just the likelihood of military, blokes and Halo really doesn't lend itself to ladies taking the lead. I believe the leadership team and Bonnie had passion and worked bloody hard but just not aligned with the hardcore nature of FPS Halo audience for multiplayer or lore/campaign. Passion alone isn't lightning in a bottle, by comparison to Bungie and Jason Jones Halo games it's night and day across the board.

A vision and clear leader of the Halo sub types of games is sorely needed. I believe Max Hoberman is such a proven Halo resource for multiplayer and online. As for campaign and the franchise at large the lightning is yet to strike.

Honestly at this point, our greatest hope would be Certain Affinity joins MS and Max takes over as a creative or design lead since of course he gets it and was there since CE. Losing Staten and his support was a huge blow as he could have really steered the ship where it needed to be without Bonnie, Frank, and Kiki screwing shit up.

 

[ComputerBlue]

Great, except he’s being replaced by some other clown from 343 that contributed to turning this series into shit.

 

[mckmas8808]

I mean cleaning house is nice and all but I hope they have plans to fill in those roles with competent people.

This is the important part!

I don't think people care about the genitals or sexual preferences of who makes their games as long as the quality is there. That being said, I think Bonnie totally staffed her company to focus more on balanced representation vs hiring people who truly loved Halo and were the best they could possibly hire for the role. In hindsight of what is happening now, I feel she had alternative motives in how she ran 343i instead of focusing on her damn job and making sure the legacy passed on from Bungie stayed intact. She was asleep at the wheel on a lot of stuff , didn't understand, or just flat out did not care.

I wish Corrine the best, though, and hope for the best as we all need it.

The bolded feels unfair bro.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Halo has got to figure out open world quests, it’s a favorite shooter for many, they got the fobs, villains, master chief weapon wheel and gadgets going 343 is talented.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

This is the important part!



The bolded feels unfair bro.

How? I am about hiring the right person for the role regardless of who they are. We have heard numerous reports of 343i going out and hiring people that did not like Halo before 343i worked on it. It showed in some of the end product we got.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

What the hell is going on there?

The rats are leaving the sinking ship...

 

[ResilientBanana]

Not going to lie, he did a piss poor job directing the franchise and did better as a Weekly What's Up writer for Bungie.

 

[Pop]

I blame xbox management especially Phil for letting 343i operate for so long with the Halo IP. All these recent actions should have been done 10+ years ago