Halo Infinite has just lost its head of design

Halo Infinite's head of design, Jerry Hook, has parted ways with 343 Industries.

Hook announced his departure from the company on Twitter. "Today marks my last day at 343i, Microsoft, and Halo," he says. "This journey has been filled with creating new worlds, platforms, and products from Xbox, Xbox Live to Halo. Most of all it has been working alongside some of the most passionate and driven people in the industry, that have impacted millions of players around the world."

"Thank you to all that have let me run alongside you in this amazing industry. And thank you to this community," he adds. Hook joined Microsoft all the way back in 2003, where he was employed as lead program manager for commerce and accounts at Xbox Live. He went on to become an executive producer working on Halo: CE Anniversary, Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and more.

In 2015, Hook joined Bungie as a project lead on Destiny before returning to Microsoft and the Halo franchise three years later. He's been head of design for Halo Infinite since 2019. Hook's departure comes shortly after that of Halo's lead multiplayer designer Andrew Witts, who announced on Twitter in March that he was leaving 343 Industries "to take some time off to relax and recharge".

Master Chief's latest adventure has been something of a bumpy ride so far. Initially, the game was delayed by a year because 343 wasn't "proud" of it. Still, many fans have been unhappy with the scarcity of content updates and the game's various multiplayer issues. The Halo Infinite developer has acknowledged that the community is "simply out of patience" and promised fixes and free XP following a "bumpy" season 2 launch. As well as multiplayer woes, the game is also currently without a campaign co-op mode, which has now been delayed until "late August".

There are a lot of exciting titles coming for Microsoft's new-gen console. See all those confirmed to launch this year and beyond in our guide to upcoming Xbox Series X games.