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Another Halo Infinite Director Leaves The Project

Director Chris Lee has "stepped back" from Halo Infinite and is "looking at future opportunities."

72 Comments

Bloomberg reports that game director Chris Lee has left the Halo Infinite project. This comes not long after Infinite was delayed past the Xbox Series X/S launch and into some unspecified date in 2021.

Lee confirmed the news with Bloomberg, saying he has "stepped back" from his role on Halo Infinite. Despite there being no new release date, Lee said he is confident the team will deliver on a great game next year. Notably, he's the second director to leave the game in the last two years.

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"I have stepped back from Infinite and I am looking at future opportunities," Lee said. "I believe in the team and am confident they will deliver a great game and now is a good time for me to step away."

Microsoft commented on Chris Lee taking a step back from his role as director on Halo Infinite, saying Lee remains a Microsoft employee.

"Chris Lee remains a Microsoft employee and while he has stepped back from Halo Infinite right now, we appreciate all he has done for the project to date," Microsoft said in a statement to GameSpot.

According to his LinkedIn, Lee has been with 343 Industries since 2008, where he served as a lead producer on the Halo franchise. In 2016, Lee was promoted to Partner Studio Head, in which he spearheaded the "spiritual reboot" to the Halo series, likely referring to Halo 5.

Halo Infinite was slated to arrive alongside the Xbox Series S and Series X as a launch title. But the game was delayed in August due to multiple factors, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In fact, the game has seen some turbulence since development. Creative director Tim Longo left 343 Industries in August 2019, with executive producer Mary Olson following suit in October. And earlier this year, 343 confirmed that three different studios are assisting with Halo Infinite's development. The team even brought back veteran writer Joseph Staten.

A new date has not been announced, but Halo Infinite launches sometime in 2021. Halo's community director quelled release date rumors by reiterating that the game doesn't have a locked-in date yet.

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videogameninja

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Edited By videogameninja

-"He is confident the team will deliver on a great game next year."-

Translation: Game isn't coming out 'til 2022.

Clearly I'm just joking here but with everything going on in the world right now (as well as more and more bad news surrounding Halo: infinite.) I don't think any of us would be surprised if that scenario unfolded.

-READING BETWEEN THE LINES NINJA APPROVED-

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Gr4h4m833zy

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@videogameninja: Lol. Leave it to ninja to make sense of anything these days with video games. But on a serious note, if what happened to cyberpunk 2077 can happen then halo infinite could possibly come out in 2022 or beyond so who knows. If he is still a microsoft employee though, im thinking he's cleaning toilets now as punishment for whatever he did.

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GamerBum

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@videogameninja:

I for one would be surprised and disappointed. I must be like one of the only gamers on earth who thought the game looked great. I’d have gladly played it the way it was.

I’m still hoping and wishing for a next gen launch window release which I honestly thought was going to be the case. Hoping for March at the latest. But hey if they need more time that’s fine too. Got plenty of games to play in the meantime and an absolute mammoth back catalogue still to get through.

Quick Resume on my XseX is going to come in very handy not to mention fast load times.

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robertbyronz

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@gamerbum: if you watched the video in 4K.. it DID look good.. not great.. but certainly enough for today's standards, and there was still time to go before the holidays .. there must have been more wrong though.. I think this doesn't affect anything in development at this point with so many people working on it, and I think it's going to be awesome when it launches in 2021. Hopefully that's Jan 1., 2021!

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GamerBum

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@robertbyronz:

Yeah I watched the game in 4K and thought it looked more next gen than any other game I’d seen up until then.

And still do to a certain extent. I mean it’s an open world Halo.

The graphics had a heft or solidness to them if that makes sense. A dense look. I can’t explain it well.

Not sure if it’s a consequence of the 10X the processing power per pixel compared to Halo 5 or not. The game looked so sharp and clean. When Chief ascends the lift and the famous music chants play I thought the game looked beautiful.

All the hate it got I honestly think was another example of the Internet overreacting on something associated with Microsoft Xbox. After all even now it’s still ‘cool’ to ‘hate’ on Xbox.

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deactivated-65d35eb4921a1

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@robertbyronz: C'mon, buddy. Infinite is supposed to be Microsoft's flagship title. And from that perspective, no matter how hard you skew this... that demo just looked bizarrely bad. Yeah, maybe by Bugsnax standards, it didn't look so awful. C'mon..

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bababooey12

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Edited By bababooey12

@gfantini: lol on Xbox and been gaming for a long time.....I take demos with a grain of salt...the game looked fine..for a demo. The fact it was played on PC and streamed at 1080p should've been an obvious clue, that your graphics for demonstration purposes, wasn't going to reflect what YOU personally might experience. As always depends on your setup etc. I do know one thing I won't be playing it on a PC lol....the demo was suppose to be about showcasing some gameplay...the grapple etc.

I could almost promise you that even on my Xbox One X with my OLED that "demo" would've looked a lot better.

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doubtless1

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@bababooey12: So wait.. are you implying it looked bad because it was on PC? In nearly all cases revealing something on a PC actually sets the standards unrealistically high, as the consoles will in no way match the PC's power. Not only that, it's a DEMO bro, it's designed to sell a product. Why show off a lackluster bore fest that's graphical fidelity is lower than say, idk, 2015's witcher 3. They had nothing to show for all these years of hard work. Halo infinite has been mismanaged on a catastrophic level. We're talking bioware's Anthem level of mismanagement.

But I get it man, you like your kool aid. Who am I to take it from you ;)

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bababooey12

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@doubtless1: No, I was implying that it was streamed at 1080p as I stated...I was implying that I didn't really believe the whole we are playing on PC...but oh the specs match the Xbox Series X bs...demos are for many reasons, Scorn just had a demo right? You can tell that demo was more about showcasing the environment aka graphics etc...where as Halo I felt the vibe was to spend more time trying to showcase gameplay like with the grapple etc....at the end though yes it depends on what people like. IMO having been playing Halo since the beginning although I did skip Halo 4...I will say though Halo has never really been big for its graphics..more for gameplay it helped redefine multi-player shooters/co-op splitscreen etc as least on Xbox... that had nothing to do with its graphics..its not meant to be a Forza....Fortnite one of the biggest games ever...isn't big because of its graphics...lol. Of course that's what PC player's seem to love and talk about the most graphics....it can be a crappy game but man the graphics better look good lol. Gtfoh...

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doubtless1

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@bababooey12: Through all these comments you default to "lul PC gamerz and their graphics." Fact is Halo Infinite looks incredibly lackluster and boring. You THEN throw in graphics that.. just look flat and little to no improvement over its own predecessor and what did you expect? Everyone to be standing up crying and clapping like you? MS needs to wow on every level here, its their flagship title from their pride and joy IP that's been rocky since they've acquired it and oh hey, the inexperienced derp squad known as 343i dropped the ball yet again. I suggest you pay more attention to game development and the turmoil within it. This project has mismanagement all over it, it's all but pubic knowledge by now. Go figure right? Outsource over 60% of the workload to freelancers and this is what you get.

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GustavoB

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@bababooey12: demos always look better than the final product.

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bababooey12

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@gustavob: no...

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Thanatos2k

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Edited By Thanatos2k

@bababooey12: They do though. They are manipulated and fraudulently presented to be better looking than the final product too.

I have never seen a demo that looked worse than the final product.

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GustavoB

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@bababooey12: yes, and you know it.

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bababooey12

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@gustavob: No, I've seen demos that looked great and the game comes and it looks horrible...I've seen opposite too. To sit there and say that game demos always look better than the final product is ignorant..

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GustavoB

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@bababooey12: name one example of a demo that looked worse than the final product less than one year from release.

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robertbyronz

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@gfantini: did you actually see the 4K video.. or what was just playing here? the 4K on youtube looks much better.. not magnificent .. or "wow" but up to current gen standards. the pop in, etc.. is all characteristic of the game being a "build" and would have been cleared up by launch. I honestly thought it would of still made launch.. but there must have been more to it.. and honestly.. more time is good.

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deactivated-65d35eb4921a1

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@robertbyronz: Well, to each his own but... Yes, I did watch the highest quality version available and... it still looks horrendous to my eyes and again, considering it's supposed to be a next-gen flagship.

But you said yourself: "not magnificent .. or "wow" but up to current gen standards". See? This IS the next-gen game that's supposed to wow and drive sales of millions of Xboxes Series X/S.

And it undeniably fails miserably at that so far. No wonder the delays and layoffs. It's right there into everyone's faces.

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bababooey12

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@gfantini: lol maybe you need to get your eyes checked...tune them from Sony or PC setting to Xbox. Then you can see unbiasedly...

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deactivated-65d35eb4921a1

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@bababooey12: If bias were to be the case, why do I find such games as Gears 5, any Forza or The Medium to look amazing?

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bababooey12

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@gfantini: Good question, especially since this game isn't even out yet. Not like you're basing it off of the final product...Gears 5 already out...same with Forza most recent title. As for The Medium did they play on a PC with the same specs and streamed at 1080p? Can you play Halo Infinite right now...no saying the demo sucked because the graphics weren't the best looking...yet you haven't even seen end game graphics(by actually playing the game)...is like saying a movie is going to suck because you thought the trailer was horrible lol...that's how I feel about demos not always the best representation of the final product...exactly why I wait and judge for myself. Luckily, gamepass I can try it out without having to drop $60 or $70 first...then if it does actually suck well...

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deactivated-65d35eb4921a1

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@bababooey12: Jesus f'in Christ, it all comes down to a childish fanboy war with you guys, doesn't it?

Son, my point was specifically about the bias issue you raised. Let me rephrase, then: The Medium's TRAILERS look awesome. It doesn't matter for the sake of the argument how good the game is gonna PLAY. It LOOKS great. SO FAR. period.

And that's exactly the issue with Infinite. It LOOKS ugly. SO FAR. And it did 6 months before release. And hence... it got delayed. And a couple studio heads got their ass fired. And honestly, I do hope they manage to turn this ship around.

Now, Game Pass: yeah, it's great. But unfortunately it's not for everyone. I, for one, only have the time to play 2 or 3 games a year. And actually, I enjoy the commitment that buying a game brings. I still fondly remember how I hated Bloodborne for the first few hours of gameplay and alas: now it's my favorite game of all time. BY FAR. And on top off all that, I almost never buy games at launch. I have a little list here and I wait for a great deal. It works for me because I don't care for multiplayer. So I end up spending those $60 or $70 in a whole year.

So, buddy: chill. Be happy about Xbox, Game Pass or even Halo Infinite's trailers and delays. There's room for everyone.

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bababooey12

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@gfantini: Well for one Son, you're the one with your panties in a knot...acting like a little little girl because you don't like someone's comment. My point was its your opinion as to how the graphics looked etc. The stream quality was crappy and played on a PC...rather than the actual system itself..as someone else also pointed out the game was merely to show a little gameplay off etc. You have people whining like yourself about how well it looked ugly lol..its like no crap..if you had high expectations for what wasn't even a released final product then you're an idiot...you sitting there saying some studio heads being fired and the game being delayed was due to it looking ugly lol is speculation(especially when multiple other games have been delayed)..don't like people commenting on your posts then don't post...but don't throw a little fit about it and call people your son etc...like you're big and bad on a chat forum. Now, if you like to continue the conversation like a couple of adults so be it, if not I'll take your silence as just that.

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robertbyronz

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Edited By robertbyronz

@gfantini: yes. I know very well what I said. I also know it was a build and wasn't the shipping version of the game. I've said this in other posts as well. 343 was showing us all.. something.. how the game was coming.. a glimpse of what it would be.. I think they figured we would all realize it wasn't final, but then they saw all the crazy backlash it got. I think if everyone would have just relaxed, it it would have gotten the polish it needed by launch.. because yes.. flagship and needs to be actually next gen. But we'll never really know. My point is there's no need for all the hate because we DON'T know all that was going on, or what state it would have been in by launch. I know there's alot that's been affected by the Pandemic, and Infinite is just one of those games. It's better to have a game be the best it can be by delaying it the rushing to meet a deadline and have it mediocre. It was a lose lose situation either way.. that' was going to be open to backlash.. no matter what they did. During 2020.. the best thing we can do is just be patient. the games are coming... development times are compromised in many ways.. we have more then enough games to play right now as it is.

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keiser69

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I have seen a lot of reactions that the development is in hell and that is why he left etc. I do not think that is the case. I think Chris Lee was either going to leave on his own or he was going to be asked to leave. He had 5 or 6 years to ship this game and could not hit the date. He is also responsible ultimately for the Halo 4 and Halo 5 lukewarm reception (even tho I think 4 is not that bad) . I think this is actually good news , and hopefully 343 can start righting the ship under new leadership. I am hopeful that maybe Joseph Staten is given the director role.

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EmmanuelGuerrero

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Lmfao.....

Ready to crash and burn is all.

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rawkstar007

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Corporate speak aside, he jumped ship. Can’t blame the guy. It must be a nightmare over there right now.

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masonshoemocker

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@rawkstar007: Actually it sounds like he had to leave or Microsoft was going to make him leave.

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keiser69

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@rawkstar007: I think this is corporate speak but for a completely different reason. I dont think he jumped ship I think he was made to walk the plank.

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rawkstar007

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@keiser69: Either way, good for him.

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Shantmaster_K

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So excited for Halo Infinite, but the constant storm around it is worrisome.

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