Former Halo Infinite multiplayer map designer Patrick Wren has been at 343 Industries for eight years, and most recently he works at Respawn Entertainment. The developer of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has criticized Microsoft for the layoffs of several employees at the tech giant and 343 because of “incompetent leadership.” He said on Twitter:
“The layoffs on 343 shouldn’t have happened, and Halo Infinite should be in better shape. The reason for this The incompetence of leadership during Halo Infinite’s development made the game extremely stressful. and must work hard to make the game look its best
The people who work with me every day have a passion for the Halo series and want to do something great for the fans, but they’ve been stripped of their commitment to making games.
Now, the team is still working hard to make their dreams come true. I urge everyone to continue to support the 343 team in the midst of this difficult time.” – Patrick Wren
The people I worked every day with were passionate about Halo and wanted to make something great for the fans. They helped push for a better Halo and got laid off for it.
Devs still there are working hard on that dream. Look at Forge. Be kind to them during this awful time.
— Patrick Wren (@Witdarkstar) January 19, 2023
Former 343 employee Tyler Owens, who was involved in the creation of Halo 5, has accused Microsoft of the incident.
“As a Halo fan, I’m fed up with the code. And Microsoft’s business policies gradually destroy what I love.
Microsoft misuses contract policies. for tax benefits and layoffs this time It’s to make huge profits / bonuses for executives… They were the cause of Halo’s failure.”
As a Halo fan I’m really tired of Microsoft business practices & policies slowly killing the thing I love
between the contracting policies they abuse for tax incentives & layoffs in the face of gigantic profits/executive bonuses… they set Halo up for failure
— Tyler Owens (@heytred) January 18, 2023
The criticism comes after Microsoft abruptly laid off 4.5% of its 220,000 employees in its U.S. operations, or around 10,000. Many game developers at Xbox Game Studios confirmed that Microsoft’s gaming company was affected by the incident. this time too
Source: VGC
