343 Industries Founder and Head Exits Studio

I played quite a bit of Halo Infinite at launch, but even I know this isn’t how 343 Industries wanted things to go. It’s been a rough road with delays of popular game modes and the outright cancelation of co-op campaign content. Despite all of this, the studio seems committed to making the game the full-fledged Halo experience fans want. Unfortunately, due to a family illness, they’ll have to do it without 343 Industries founder and head Bonnie Ross. Here’s the latest in a major shakeup at the top of the Xbox studio that makes Halo games.

In an announcement delivered on Twitter, 343 Industries head and founder Bonnie Ross expressed a lot of emotions about her departure. Ross states, “I am incredibly proud of the work everyone at 343 Industries has done with Halo Infinite, the Master Chief Collection, the Halo television series and so much more.” Despite the issues going on at the studio, Ross explained in the Tweet that her leaving was due to a family medical emergency and not trouble within the Halo-focused studio.

There’s a lot that the studio will have to solve without its leader while working to improve Halo Infinite. Of course, they won’t be without a leader, just the founder. Microsoft announced that effective immediately, the head of production Pierre Hintze will take over as studio head. Whatever the reason for your thoughts on Halo Infinite, I think we can all agree that family medical issues are a serious issue and we’re hoping the best for Ross and her family.

Ross worked for Microsoft for 28 years and led 343 Industries for the 15 years of its existence. With a new studio head and plenty to do to address concerns with Halo Infinite, what do you see the next six months looking like for the game? Let us know in the comments!