Halo Infinite Multiplayer Designer Joins Respawn For A New Star Wars Project

Halo Infinite senior multiplayer designer Patrick Wren has left 343 Industries to join Respawn Entertainment to work on a Star Wars game.

Wren announced on Twitter that he has joined the "Jedi team" as a senior encounter designer at Respawn on an unannounced project. Wren worked on the Star Wars universe before, having spent time working on Star Wars: First Assault in 2012-2013. The game was canceled as part of Disney's buyout of the Star Wars brand from George Lucas.

I am happy to announce that today is my first day on the Jedi team as a Senior Encounter Designer @Respawn. I am so excited to be back on Star Wars and work with this incredible team. pic.twitter.com/JItAkdB5xa
— Patrick Wren (@Witdarkstar) November 8, 2021

Wren moved to 343 Industries in 2013 where he worked on Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Infinite most recently. His decision to leave the studio just before Halo Infinite launches does not signal anything negative about the game. It is common for there to be turnover when projects wrap up.

As for what Wren is making at Respawn, he's wearing a Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order t-shirt, which suggests he's contributing to the rumored sequel. EA has all but confirmed it's making a sequel, which is no surprise given the first game sold more than 10 million copies.

GameSpot has contacted EA in an attempt to get more details.

EA doesn't plan to make any announcements about its future Star Wars games until 2022. "All of us look forward to celebrating with you next year when we share our vision for the Galaxy far, far away!" EA said in July.

EA's Star Wars: Battlefront games combined to sell more than 33 million copies, so we wouldn't be surprised to see a third game from that series as well. In total, the Star Wars games that EA has made have sold more than 52 million copies.

Whatever future Star Wars games EA has in the works will be joined by a new Star Wars open-world game from Ubisoft and the team that made The Division.

"EA has been and will continue to be a very strategic and important partner for us now and going forward," Disney games boss Sean Shoptaw told Wired. "But we did feel like there's room for others."

In other Star Wars news, Knights of the Old Republic is coming to Nintendo Switch on November 11, while Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins' new Rogue Squadron movie has been delayed.