Bonnie Ross Leaves Halo Infinite’s 343, Leadership Restructured

Halo Infinite

343

Bonnie Ross, founder and head of 343 Industries, is leaving the company, she announced on Twitter today.

The announcement, which mostly serves as a farewell to the community, cites a family medical issue as the reason for her departure. It reads:

“While I had hoped to stay with Halo until we released the Winter Update, I am letting you know I will be leaving 343 and attending to a family medical issue.

I am incredibly proud of the work everyone at 343 Industries has done with Halo Infinite, the Master Chief Collection, the Halo television series and so much more. It has been an honor to serve alongside the team for the last 15 years and to be a part of a universe that I love.

Thank you to everyone in the Halo community for your support. Halo’s future is bright. I cannot wait for all of you to experience what we have in store – and to cheer alongside you, as a fan, at the Halo World Championship in October!”

The news also comes with a string of restructured roles at the top levels of 343:

Needless to say, Bonnie Ross’s departure is an earthquake through the Halo community, as she’s been the guiding force behind 343’s time with the franchise since it took it over from Bungie. As of late, she had been facing extremely targeted pressure, veering into harassment from fans that she should be fired over the way Halo Infinite has been handled as a live game. There is no doubt that those mounting that campaign will see her leaving as a win, and question the given reason for her departure.

I…certainly would not recommend questioning that, and I hope Bonnie Ross and her family are all okay. It’s true that certainly, many factors may have played into this decision, but it will be unfortunate if a bunch of conspiracy theories blossom from this, which seems somewhat inevitable.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 10: Bonnie Ross, general manager and studio head of 343 Industries, … [+] introduces the Halo Xbox video game during Microsoft Xbox news conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Galen Center on June 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands are expected to attend the annual three-day convention to see the latest games and announcements from the gaming industry. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Now, 343 faces the challenge of continuing to develop Halo without Ross, where currently the game has just delayed the arrival of its third season and cancelled promised features like local split-screen co-op. Forge is on the way and looks promising, but 343’s larger Halo plans post-Infinite remain somewhat unclear.

We’ll have more info as it comes in regarding Ross’s departure, but for now, here’s Microsoft’s statement:

“After more than 28 years in gaming at Microsoft, including 15 years leading 343 Industries and Halo through its most ambitious steps forward, Bonnie Ross will be leaving Microsoft and spending more time with her family. We are thankful for her leadership of 343 during which the team launched Halo 4, Halo 5, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the Halo television series, and Halo Infinite. We wish her all the best. Head of Production Pierre Hintze will become Studio Head effective immediately. The 343 team is hard at work shipping the Winter Update, the biggest Halo Infinite update since launch.”

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