According to Lords of Gaming, the report from which Windows Central later verified, David Berger will step down from 343. David Berger is a long-time Microsoft employee. Before taking up his role as engine lead of the Slipspace Engine for Halo Infinite, David worked on several games such as Mechwarrior, Shadowrun, and Too Human. It’s not clear yet why Berger is leaving 343 but the reports suggest that Microsoft has anticipated all the departures as part of a major restructuring of the studio. Here’s a list of all the former 343 employees that have left the company in recent years:
Chris Lee (Studio Head) Nicolas Bouvier (Art Director) Aaron Linde (Lead Writer) Andrew Witts (Lead Multiplayer Designer) Jerry Hook (Design Lead)
It’s curious that all the employees left as Halo Infinite’s troubled development period came to light. Halo Infinite already had an uphill climb ahead of itself trying to prove critics wrong after 343 delayed it by a year. At the start, critics and audiences warmed up to Halo Infinite, citing the strong single-player campaign and the release of the free-to-play multiplayer leg as the reasons. Things have only gone from bad to worse as 343 struggled to keep audiences engaged at all times. As a live-service title, Halo Infinite needs constant support from 343 to sustain itself. It’s safe to say that the learning curve has been much steeper than 343 realized. 343 recently delayed the co-op campaign and forge mode of Halo Infinite to November. At the same time, 343 confirmed that split-screen co-op is never coming to Halo Infinite albeit fans have “solved” this issue by implementing it themselves. With 343’s unusually large exodus of creative talent in recent months, you can’t blame fans for wondering what the future holds for Halo Infinite.
