Another 343 Industries boss is leaving the company, sending shockwaves to Halo Infinite fans who’ve been clamoring for much-needed improvements across the game.

The Halo Infinite community bid a fond farewell to 343 Industries’ Head of Design Jerry Hook, marking yet another high-profile departure who worked on the company’s flashship title. Though many agreed he’s had a wonderful career, it made players nervous of what it could mean for Infinite.

Hook announced his leave on May 25 after having a career spanning over two decades at Microsoft, Bungie, and finally 343i.

“Today marks my last day at 343i, Microsoft and Halo,” he said. “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.

— jerry hook (@hookscourt) May 25, 2022

As much love as the community had for Hook’s contribution to the Xbox ecosystem as well as Halo itself, people couldn’t help but notice yet another major player from the studio moving on amid the Halo Infinite era.

“This is a big one,” one user said. “I know devs leave companies all the time but it really feels like 343 is bleeding talent. Whatever their structure is, it feels like it’s shooting them in the foot.”

Other players were similarly weary of Infinite’s long-term plan from here, considering the names that have left 343 during its dev cycle.

“Yet again another lead/head of a department leaving less than 9 months after launch into a game supposed to last 10 years,” another user said. “I’m upset that a long term vision that was promised to be there just doesn’t look [like it will actually] be there.”

Halo Infinite is currently in its second season that was admittedly a little “bumpy” at launch following backlash to weapons and movement.

Still the team at 343 are looking to turn around Halo Infinite to bring players back with new content in future updates for the game.

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