Former Halo Dev Blasts 343 Industries; Warns Devs To Avoid Studio

A 343 Industries former developer recently discussed major red flags associated with the studio due to horrible decision-making and leadership.

[jznrpg]

“they are creatively limiting” when speaking of management. That seems to be an issue for a good chunk of MS’s studios for the last decade. It’s not as harsh as “their leadership is cancer” statement but it’s really important to nurture creativity with video games and seems like an obvious issue within MS and especially 343.

[just_looken]

Yeah but overall creativity is way down in the AAA market not many risk's are being taken.

M$ though has so many unused ip's like ninja giden and conker poor rare :(

But its all down to how much money a company is making sadly overall despite the failures of halo micorsoft is still stupid rich.

[Dabigsiebowski]

DEI is dragging profits down for those that follow it. Simple. Those narratives don't have a large market for gaming.

[DarXyde]

.... Did you really say Ninja Gaiden?

Buddy....

[just_looken]

@DarXyde

Yes i said Ninja Gaiden though my spelling was bad MS has published it in the past but of course sega/koei also did so who owns the ip is always a debate

That being said it is another dead ip that once had a good run of games.

[Bathyj]

Who owns it is not a debate.
Someone owns it by law and it's not Microsoft.

[Notellin]

You talked about creativity and then proceeded to bring up old franchises just to contradict yourself immediately after.

We don't need sequels we need new stories and IPs. That's creativity.

[Lexreborn2]

Bro literally said DEI is what’s causing creative limitations and 343i have been selling halo short longer then that was in the conversation lol I swear these micro aggressions over inclusion with ppl trying to associate it to things failing and not the decades long issue of poor management and greedy practices is sad, pathetic and hilarious all at once.

Starting to believe these anti dei people ARE the poor management ppl trying to make themselves feel better online

[PapaBop]

Overall creativity down with the big publishers *

There fixed it for you. I've never felt there is a lack of creativity in the games I play but then again I can count on one hand the games I've bought from the big three publishers in the last five years.

[Noskypeno]

Lex, look at a photo of the 90s devs, just a bunch of bros that actually look like they are having fun, guys like Cliffy were in charge. Look at the devs now, they look like they are just there for the checks and preach a message, it feels much more corporate. Gamers don't want to be preached to. I'm not against diversity, some of my favorite games are filled with people that arent just white men, games like Halo, Gears, Tomb Raider, Uncharted and many more.

[refocusedman]

what does DEI have to do with this conversation?

[Knightofelemia]

@just_looken

I don't remember reading any article or hearing anything about Microsoft purchasing KOEI Tecmo or the Ninja Gaiden franchise. Microsoft does not own Ninja Gaiden they published the game that was it. And there was away to skate around the contract with Microsoft so KOEI Tecmo could bring the game to the PS3. KOEI Tecmo owns Ninja Gaiden they are the ones who can do what ever they want with the franchise.

[just_looken]

@Notellin

Ahh another person that puts words in my mouth gets praise its like America in here.

Please anyone here on n4g point out were i said sequels?

Old ip's can be reborn same or even new characters with fresh ideas hello conker needs a fresh comeback a silly platformer game for adults.

There are so many old ip's never reused at least bungie is bringing back marathon for what ever that is worth but atleast that ip is given a second chance.

[Profchaos]

It's not like we can't see it ever since the shift to prioritise gamepass it's been all quantity over quality.

A mediocre game that ships and holds someone's attention for 20 hours is the same on gamepass as a incredible game that holds someone's attention for 20 hours.

It's clear up until recently they pretty much gave up on selling games until.they realised there's money to be made by selling games to PlayStation and Nintendo gamers that won't subscribe to gamepass. Like the marketing for halo infinite was abysmal with day one on gamepass being the only aspect pushed halo used to be a game that retailers would proudly promote and have midnight launches for but if you told me it didn't ship on a disc id believe it a physical copy of the game is almost non existent.

[just_looken]

i know its the meta to blame gamepass

But remember there is ubisoft + ea access playstation plus collection deal then you got that nintendio game sub.

You are right in what you said but its more than Microsoft is going the way the netflix of gaming.

[trez1082]

Hard to only blame 343. Microsoft have this franchise mentality and focus on what worked for them before and the fact that they also listen to that small loud section of their fans is a problem. Not saying they have to be like Sony or Nintendo but those companies don’t really listen outcries or demands but focus devs visions. so many Mario’s n Zelda’s out there but pretty much all different but some fans would cry so loud of Halo dares to try new things. I see some hope now with new engine, third person option etc

[obidanshinobi]

It's business managers like Phil Spencer butting heads with creative talented developers.

[Obscure_Observer]

"It’s not as harsh as “their leadership is cancer” statement but it’s really important to nurture creativity with video games and seems like an obvious issue within MS and especially 343."

WTF? Didn´t MS just allowed 343i to do go through a complete team overhaul with new creative staff, new focus, new name and new engine after spent hundreds of millions on R&D for Slipspace?!

The dude, didn´t trashed MS or his former colleagues at 343i studio, he was talking specifically about the *leadership* and one person in particular, Pierre Hintze.

Then you turn and twisted his comments into some bs Xbox hit piece when in reality Xbox´s Matt Botty is encouraging Xbox studios to create *new* games and *new* IPs like Avowed, South of Midnight, Everwild, Clockwork Revolution, Contraband, Kojima´s OD, Project Mara, Fable, Perfect Dark, State of Decay, Flight Simulator, Age of Mythology, Blade, Towerborne, Gears E-Day... and more.

Then I look at Playstation´s Hermen Hurst forcing first party studios to work mostly on GaaS, Remasters, Remakes and Re-Releases and I know which company is allowing and encouraging freedom of creative for its developers.

So you can pretend and twist reality all you want, but you that I´d brought you FACTS!

[ApocalypseShadow]

Begins to spew nonsense while ignoring that many of Microsoft's ips have gone to point of not selling in high numbers anymore. Halo was a huge fail as it no longer rivals other media or competitor's ips. And lost features that used to be standard. Forza comes out and is pretty much forgotten compared to GT7. Red Fall was a fail. Star Field was a fail. And now games are coming to competitor's platforms just to pick up sales.

And YOU think it's just Pierre. Lol. What is 343 allowed to make besides Halo? There's no creativity in banging out a dead horse every couple of years. And then get worse at it to the point where they were shook up to fix a broken nightmare. Abandoning an expensive game engine instead of making it better. You don't see Naughty Dog abandoning their engine. You don't see Guerilla abandoning theirs. You don't see Polyphony abandoning theirs. They make theirs better.

Management is a problem from Phil all the way down Microsoft game studios. Or they wouldn't be getting their asses kicked consistently and selling games on other platforms. But keep on being the blind warrior. You don't restructure for doing well. It's when you're failing. Lol... Allowed... What nonsense. They were allowed.... Lol.

[Sonyslave3]

An ex speaking bad on their ex 😂
And they got rid of Bonnie and the other head at 343 so yes they done more then change their name.
Like why do we listen to people like this. If was so bad like he claimed why stay for 13 years lol.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

We need proof of actual gameplay because we don't know yet

[just_looken]

have you already forgot the first game play of halo infinite then all the hype of the mp?

I say toss out this "new" game then give it a year or toss it on GP

[DarXyde]

Did you read Waltz's post?

He gives a pretty clear picture of reasons why he stayed.

You can say it's a jaded ex speaking ill of an ex, but if you finally break up with someone after a long time and give clear reasons for it, it sounds like someone trying to really commit to making it work but you hit a breaking point and as you leave, you share some insights: what kept you there that long (he says why) and what's very difficult to overlook (he says what).

If, after hearing that, people still want to work for them, no issues. But frankly, there is more evidence in support of his perspective than against it.

[gold_drake]

why stay for 13 years ?

money, making a living. work.

[crazyCoconuts]

Exactly... And,... It is Halo- that's a great legacy to walk away from

[Knushwood Butt]

This.
Anyone that's worked for one company for a long time knows that it's not perfect all the time, there are always ups and downs, and there's a balance between the pros and the cons.
It's when that balance starts to tip and the cons start to outweigh the pros, I find you get to a situation where there's the 'stick that broke the camel's back', that one thing just reaffirms what you already knew - that it's time to get out, and you quit.

At the end of last year I left somewhere after 14 years, and almost every day I think about how it was turned into a complete shit show by incompetent, unprofessional leadership.

Sorry for the rant!

[Beef5upreme83]

Hope Craig makes a comeback

[plmkoh]

Seems every studio associated with Halo (Bungie, 343) is just simply toxic. Coincidence or not, I don't know but it sure explains why Halo has been underwhelming since 3.

[Reaper22_]

Lol.. who approves this stuff? Where did he blast 343? This is obviously just posted for hits.

[Knushwood Butt]

'horrible decision-making and leadership'

Unfortunately that's not exclusive to 343.

[Toecutter00]

I'm really looking forward to the Halo CE remake shipping without the split-screen co-op feature. I'm sure it will go over really well.

[gold_drake]

oh damn ha

[RhinoGamer88]

Again, this is both a developer and publisher issue. MS XBOX studios leadership has been failing for years. Highly paid and comp'd...shite results.

[__y2jb]

The article reads like it was AI generated.

[babadivad]

Sounds about right.

[InUrFoxHole]

I find it amusing that the job was good enough to take the pay and stay but when he was laid off it was bad enough to bash. If you don't like your work environment and continue to stay it is 100% your fault. I can't stand people who piss and moan after the fact. If you stayed and continued then you are part of the problem as well.

[pwnmaster3000]

Yes because people can just afford to leave a job. Forget rent, forget supporting your family.
Stop being unrelaistic. Millions of people hate where they work at but chose to stay for multiple reason, especially if the benefits and retirement is worth to stick around through the BS.
That’s life, not your fairy tale point of view, because they are bashing the company you like.
I can’t stand people with that mind set. Sounds privileged

[InUrFoxHole]

If millions of people hate their jobs it's because they lack the intrinsic motivation to go find another 1 they like. Bills make no difference. You're telling me you can't keep the current job while applying for others? If I sound privileged... good! My privilege is that I don't sit on my can pissing and moaning. If you don't like your current job, find 1 you like and stop crying about your situation. That's just being a bum
Edit: Bashing the company i like? I don't care about any of these companies. Whether it's MS, Sony or nin. Sure as a consumer i want them to make a good game but that's about it.

[Knightofelemia]

Not listening to your staff can be a costly mistake. Being stuck in your ways and sticking to the same formula can also be a costly mistake. But yet it's the staff who get screwed over so some leader or higher up can get a bonus or a big raise. Sounds like 343 or Halo Studios leadership should start listening to their staff with a wake up call. Or it should be time to promote someone and get rid of the old leadership.