The developer who helped shape the "Halo" universe is returning to the series. Joseph Staten, who worked at Bungie, including as cinematics director for the three mainline "Halo" games, will temporarily join 343 Industries as project lead for the "Halo Infinite" campaign. [He joined Microsoft Studios in 2014. Before leaving Bungie, he was the story director on "Destiny" and has since worked on several Microsoft first-party projects, including "Killer Instinct," "Quantum Break," "ReCore" and "Crackdown 3" He has also worked on "Killer Instinct," "Quantum Break," "ReCore" and "Crackdown 3. Most recently, he worked on Tell Me Why, a joint project between Dontnod and Microsoft.

Staten will not be replacing any existing talent. As the Halo Waypoint announcement states, "If you enjoy Halo's storylines, characters, and overall universe, he is definitely one of the key people to thank." However, as Product Lead for Halo Infinite, Joseph will focus on supporting the existing talented creative leads on the campaign team and making sure they have everything they need to make a great Halo game."

The blog post also touches on rumors regarding the release date and supported platforms for "Halo Infinite"; it will not be delayed to 2022, nor will support for the original Xbox One be discontinued.

These rumors follow the postponement of Halo Infinite, the first gameplay of which was released in July. This was widely considered to be underwhelming. Originally a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox Series X consoles, it was later delayed to 2021.