One of the most influential people behind Halo Infinite is leaving its development company. Jerry Hook, who was the title's head of design, is to leave 343 Industries (via Eurogamer).
In a statement posted to his Twitter account, Hook said: "Today marks my last day at 343i, Microsoft and Halo. This journey has been filled with creating new worlds, platforms and products from Xbox, Xbox Live to Halo. Most of all it has been working alongside some of the most passionate and driven people in the industry, that have impacted millions of players around the world".
Hook has had a storied career in the games industry, as a self-described "Xbox Live founding veteran", and started working with Microsoft in 2003. He began as a lead program manager for commerce and accounts on Xbox Live, and would later assume the executive producer role and has credits on titles such as Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, which were 343 Industries projects.
Hook would leave Microsoft in 2015 and join Bungie where he worked on Destiny, but would rejoin 343 Industries three years later and take on Halo Infinite as its head of design in 2019.
In the rest of his statement, Hook thanked the community and "all that have let me run alongside you in this amazing industry" and finished with a Thomas Edison quote: "If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we could literally astound ourselves". Hook's future plans are unclear but his LinkedIn profile says, "Next Saga coming soon".
This is the latest in a string of departures from the Halo Infinite team. Andrew Witts, the multiplayer lead, left in March to "take some time off to relax and recharge", while Infinite's lead narrative designer Aaron Linde departed the studio in January for a role at Riot Games.
While Halo Infinite launched to critical acclaim, and many excited players eager to get back into the helmet on PC and Xbox, the game has since dropped in popularity, with falling figures in multiplayer. But 343 Industries has remained committed to improving matters and Season 2 launched recently.