While Halo Studios might have gone through a major rebrand from having previously been known as 343 Industries, it looks like the developer has still been facing some internal issues, especially with its leadership. A new video courtesy of Rebs Gaming indicates that Halo Studios went through what has been described as “a concerning event” just a few days ago, and somehow involves art director Glenn Israel.
Israel having worked on various projects throughout different Halo games from all the way back in 2008, even jumping to with 343 Industries after Bungie moved on from Halo on to Destiny, has recently left Halo Studios. According to his LinkedIn profile, Israel had worked with Halo Studios since 2010, which brought his tenure up to 15 and a half years in total.
Announcing his departure from the company through a LinkedIn post, Israel has noted that he can’t reveal too many details about his reasons for leaving Halo Studios. He did note, however, that he plans on sharing the story “in its entirety when it is absolutely safe to do so next year.”
“I know that the state of our industry seems dire, but never forget that you are *free to choose*,” wrote Israel. “No illusion of security nor promise of wealth or fame or power is worth trading away your health, your dignity, your ethics or values – and no one can force you to. Stay strong, take evidence when necessary, and find where you belong.”
As for Rebs Gaming, the YouTuber has noted that while they can’t reveal any specific details about Israel’s departure from Halo Studios, they can confirm that there are some leadership-related issues at the developer. The YouTuber has said that they are essentially waiting for the go ahead from their sources before they can reveal this information.
Further in the video, Rebs Gaming also pointed out that Israel was one of nine members of the Art Team listed in the credits for Halo Infinite. More noteworthy about this is that, after the departure of Israel from the company, only a single member of that art team is still working with the studio – art director Donnie Taylor.
343 Industries and Halo Studios facing leadership issues hasn’t really been much of a secret since as far back as the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and even Halo 5: Guardians. However, it is worth noting that, in light of Microsoft’s lay-offs across the Xbox division, tensions had been quite high at Halo Studios according to a report from back in July.
“I’m personally super pissed that Phil’s email to us bragged about how this was the most profitable year ever for Xbox in the same breath as pulling the lever” said one Halo Studios employee at the time, referring to the internal emails that had been sent out to developers under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella leading up to the lay-offs. “I wasn’t sure what part of that I was supposed to be proud about.”
Interestingly, Halo Studios is also slated to unveil its next major project during the upcoming Halo World Championship event on October 24.
