Halo Infinite lead Chris Lee has reportedly resigned

Halo Infinite (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

It has been reported that 343 Industries Studio Head of FPS Development, Chris Lee, has resigned from the studio.
Since this resignation has come ahead of the launch of Halo Infinite, many are concerned about the game's development.
Two others have left 343 Industries before Lee, and Joseph Staten was also recently brought on to assist in finishing Halo Infinite.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, 343 Industries' Studio Head of FPS Development, Chris Lee, has resigned from the company. This resignation comes far ahead of Halo Infinite's launch, raising questions about the game's development and the road ahead.

"I have stepped back from Infinite and I am looking at future opportunities," Lee said in a statement to Bloomberg. "I believe in the team and am confident they will deliver a great game and now is a good time for me to step away." According to an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Lee is still working with Microsoft, just not on Halo Infinite.

Chris Lee's departure comes as a massive surprise, but this isn't the first time that major figures at 343 Industries have departed the studio during Halo Infinite's development cycle. The game's original Creative Director, Tim Longo, left in 2019, and Halo Infinite's Lead Producer Mary Olson left shortly after. Additionally, Halo alum Joseph Staten recently signed onto the project as the Project Lead for the game's campaign in order to help ship the game. Also, Pierre Hintze was brought on to help with the game's multiplayer. According to Bloomberg, Lee's role with the project was sidelined at the same time, and it has remained that way leading up to his official departure from Halo Infinite.

Considering this news has come right around the time that Halo Infinite would have likely hit shelves as a launch title for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S had it not been delayed, many are concerned about what's going on behind the scenes. Hopefully this change is what's best for everyone involved and for the development of Halo Infinite.

Halo Infinite is expected to launch at some time in 2021 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One family of consoles, and Windows 10 PCs. In the meantime, we highly recommend checking out the Master Chief Collection.

The next adventure in the saga

Halo Infinite

A new Great Journey awaits

Halo Infinite is sure to be an incredible game filled with wonder, adventure, and more.

Finish the Fight

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

Experience the entirety of Halo history

The Master Chief Collection is a collection of every Halo shooter from the pre-Xbox One era, offering incredible value at an incredible price.

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.

3 Comments

Hmm. I wonder if this is a case of "resigned" on display. Likely Xbox pushed him out after the massive delay and underwhelming graphical performance.
With all the terrible decisions they're making for Halo Infinite (stripping away most of Halo 5's fantastic gameplay abilities, going F2P on multiplayer and the accompanying microtransaction nightmare, shoehorning in an 'open world' concept, etc.), I don't have much confidence left in this game. At this point, I just hope they'll go back and restore the original Team Arena settings for Halo 5 and give the game a Series X enhancement.
What is going on over at 343i??