Halo veteran Joseph Staten has joined Netflix Games as a creative director on a triple-A “multiplatform game.”
Netflix evidently has a major video game project in the offing, as former Halo designer Joseph Staten has revealed that he’s joining the streaming giant as a creative director.
Taking to Twitter to break the news, Staten writes that he’ll be overseeing the making of a “brand-new triple-A multi-platform game and original IP.”
“Original IP” probably means we aren’t going to be getting a Stranger Things first-person shooter anytime soon.
“In my work life, there’s nothing I love more than collaborating with others to build worlds filled with iconic characters, deep mysteries, and endless adventures,” Staten enthused.
So today, I'm thrilled to announce that I've joined @Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let's go! 2/2
— Joseph Staten (@joestaten) April 17, 2023
Staten’s appointment is quite a coup, given his pedigree. Over a long career at Bungie, Microsoft and 343 Industries, Staten worked on multiple entries in the Halo series, from the hugely successful Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo Infinite. He also served as co-creative director on the original Destiny.
The announcement also suggests that Netflix is scaling up the scope of its video game output; most of its games so far have been smaller titles like ports of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and Into the Breach, available to play via its app. That it’s working on a “triple-A multi-platform game” with a creative force behind Halo means we should be in for something more grand (and expensive) over the next few years or so.
Staten’s exit from Microsoft is but one instance of what’s starting to look like a minor creative exodus. Halo Infinite creative director Frank O’Connor was also revealed to have left Microsoft over the past week. He joins the likes of multiplayer director Tom French, lead developer David Berger, and 343 Industries founder and head Bonnie Ross, who stepped down last year.
Despite these high-profile departures and cuts of some 95 members of staff from 343 Industries, the studio tweeted in January that everything is absolutely fine.
Halo Infinite’s fourth season is due for release in June 2023.
