After nearly 12 years of working on the Halo franchise, Tom French is moving on. The Halo Infinite Creative Director announced on Twitter that he is leaving 343 Industries.
“It’s been a massive honor to have been part of a game I loved so much as a player and admired so much as a developer,” French said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my time at 343.” His future plans are currently unknown.
French first joined the Xbox team in 2010 as a Design Director of Pixar Rush. A year later, he joined 343 Industries as a Senior Mission Designer. He also acted as the UGC Lead/Director for Halo 5, helping to work on the game’s Forge mode.
Halo Infinite’s multiplayer has seen a massive influx of content with the recent Winter Update. In addition to balance and tuning changes, the Halo Infinite Winter update also features the introduction of Forge Mode and the official launch of network campaign cooperative play.
Since launch, Halo Infinite multiplayer has seen a steady stream of content releases, tweaks, and updates. It all came to a head with the Winter Update, released shortly after the game’s first anniversary. It is unknown how French’s departure will affect future Halo Infinite updates.
Releasing in November 2021, Halo Infinite’s campaign featured an open world map design and a throwback to old-school Halo gameplay. It wasn’t perfect, but we enjoyed our time with the game. Halo Infinite Multiplayer, which launched as a stand-alone free-to-play model, felt like old-school Halo. Our biggest issue, however, was centered around the lack of multiplayer modes, maps, and frustrations with the game’s Battle Pass.
343 Industries has since done well to update the game and address its issues, but it struggles to capture the audience the Halo franchise was once known for.
