It is also stated that the game's underperformance was the reason for the 343 Industries restructuring.
Over the past few months, 343 Industries saw a wave of departures including Halo Infinite design lead Jerry Hook, art director Nicolas "Sparth" Bouvier, and most recently, the founder and head of the studio Bonnie Ross. It was also reported that head of engineering David Berger is also set to leave the developer, though this news hasn't been confirmed yet.
When the studio head Bonnie Ross announced her departure, she cited "a family medical issue" as the reason she was leaving 343 Industries. However, this might be not the only reason, Microsoft insider Brad Sams claims.
In a recent video Sams posted, he said, citing "multiple people" familiar with the matter, that the reasons for Ross's departure might also include the 343 Industries restructuring which reportedly happened due to the disappointing post-launch support of Halo Infinite.
According to Sams's sources, Microsoft wasn't happy with Halo Infinite at all levels as the game is "not in good shape" because of constant reschedules and poor releases.
Sams noted that the title did not meet Microsoft's financial expectations. According to him, Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the game and the plan was to have a live service capable of rivaling Bungie's Destiny 2 or Epic Games' Fortnite, however, the game didn't manage to reach these goals and now Microsoft views the title as a failure.
According to Sams, the delay of Halo Infinite Season 3 was the "final straw that broke the camel's back" when Microsoft decided to make a major reshuffle at 343 Industries.
In particular, that might be the reason for firing the studio's founder Bonnie Ross and giving her duties to three people: Pierre Hintze who is now the head of the studio, Bryan Koski who was appointed as a general manager of the Halo franchise, and Elizabeth Van Wyck who started leading 343 Industries' business operations.
You can learn more by watching Brad Sams's video here. Also, don't forget to join our Reddit page and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.