A long-time member of the Halo development team has departed, as Tom French, the creative director for Halo Infinite's multiplayer, had his last day at 343 Industries on Friday, December 2, 2022. French had worked on Halo for roughly 11 and a half years.
"It's been a massive honor to have been part of a game I loved so much as a player and admired so much as a developer. I couldn't be more proud of my time at 343," French said in a Tweet announcing his departure. In his time at 343 Industries, French was a mission designer, worked on Halo's Forge features, and departed as the Multiplayer Creative Director on Halo Infinite.
French was a familiar face to Halo fans on development diaries and multiplayer features. He hasn't yet said what he plans on doing next, or if he will stay in game development.
French's departure is the latest in a series of very public personnel changes at 343 Industries. Studio head and founder Bonnie Ross left the company in September to attend to a family medical issue, followed shortly after by David Berger, a developer on Halo Infinite's Slipspace Engine.
Halo Infinite hasn't had an easy time of it, though. We've been running headlines like "Halo Infinite gets features it should've launched with" for the better part of a year now. Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty said last month that Halo Infinite's launch was like "stumbling as you come across the finish line."
That's not to mention the cooperative campaign, which finally came last month—a year after release. It's only playable on a network, however, as the studio junked local co-op earlier this year, walking back statements that it'd be available eventually. Halo Infinite was the first game in series history to release without a cooperative campaign mode.
