Halo Infinite director is withdrawing from development

Chris Lee, the director of Halo Infinite, is no longer working on the game. The 343 Industries CEO and Microsoft confirm this to Bloomberg. Lee will continue to work at Microsoft. Halo Infinite was initially set to release in November, but was postponed to 2021 after criticism.

Chris Lee confirmed on Wednesday that he is no longer working on the project, Bloomberg financial news agency reports. “I have stepped back at Infinite and look forward to future opportunities,” he says. “I believe in the team and I am confident that they will deliver a great game. Now is a good time for me to take a step back.”

Microsoft says in a statement to Bloomberg that Lee is no longer working on Halo, but is still an employee at the company. “Chris Lee will remain a Microsoft employee and although he is now stepping down from Halo Infinite, we appreciate everything he has done for the project so far.”

Lee isn’t the first CEO to leave Halo Infinite development. In August, creative director Tim Longo and executive producer Mary Olson left the project. 343 Industries then announced that “the game’s creative vision and production will remain under Chris Lee’s direction,” Bloomberg writes.

Halo Infinite was initially going to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X and S, but the game was delayed until 2021 after criticism of the game’s graphics. The role of Lee was partially sidelined around this time, while Microsoft hired Halo veteran Joe Staten to lead the game’s single-player campaign. Another executive, Pierre Hintze, took charge of multiplayer, Bloomberg writes.