Microsoft implements large-scale personnel reduction & organizational reform at Halo developer

343 Industries , a game studio under Xbox Game Studios , Microsoft's game publisher division, is known as the developer of the Halo series. Bloomberg reported that 343 Industries is planning large-scale job cuts and organizational reforms.

Microsoft Studio 343 Industries Undergoing Reorganization of Halo Game Franchise - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-31/microsoft-studio-343-industries-undergoing-reorganization-of-halo-game-franchise

Nearly 100 staff axed from Halo developer, report claims | Eurogamer.net
https://www.eurogamer.net/nearly-100-staff-axed-from-halo-developer-report-claims

343 Industries, based in Redmond, Washington, USA, released 'Halo Infinite' as a new work for Xbox in December 2021. Although Halo Infinite was praised by many critics when it was released, it gradually became dissatisfied with fans due to multiple release delays and development issues. At the same time, 343 Industries is losing employees day by day, and in the fall of 2022, there was a major leadership change, and some employees were preparing for organizational restructuring.

And in mid-2023, Microsoft announced that it will lay off 10,000 employees. At least 95 employees have been laid off from 343 Industries as a result of this massive job cut, according to Bloomberg, although Microsoft declined to provide specific numbers.

Microsoft decided to dismiss 10,000 people, the second largest personnel reduction in history with a restructuring cost of 154 billion yen - GIGAZINE

It seems that the dismissed 343 Industries employees include the names of dozens of veteran employees, including the organization's top directors and contract employees. According to people familiar with the matter, these dismissed employees were asked not to identify themselves because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the end of their contracts.

With this job cut, rumors began to circulate that 343 Industries would outsource the development of the Halo series to other game studios. Microsoft's head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, told 343 Industries employees, 'Even though we are working with outside partners and outsourcing, 343 Industries will continue to be responsible for the development of the Halo series. It seems that they are guaranteeing that.

However, Bloomberg is concerned that ``the hollowing out of 343 Industries will drastically change the game development method, so there are doubts about the fate of the Halo series.''