We've got some shock news to share today, as the Head of 343 Industries Bonnie Ross has announced she's leaving the company - as well as Microsoft - and will be "attending to a family medical issue" following her departure.
Ross shared a message to Halo's fans on Twitter earlier today, which you can read in full below:
"While I had hoped to stay with Halo until we released the Winter Update, I am letting you know I will be leaving 343 and attending to a family medical issue."
"I am incredibly proud of the work everyone at 343 Industries has done with Halo Infinite, the Master Chief Collection, the Halo television series and so much more. It has been an honor to serve alongisde the team for the last 15 years and to be a part of a universe I love."
"Thank you to everyone in the Halo community for your support. Halo's future is bright. I cannot wait for all of you to experience what we have in store - and to cheer alongside you, as a fan, at the Halo World Championship in October!"
In a statement received by Windows Central, 343 Industries again mentioned that Ross "will be leaving Microsoft and spending more time with her family", bringing her 15 years of leading the Halo studio to an end. Head of Production Pierre Hintze will be taking Ross's place as Studio Head at 343 Industries beginning immediately.
Here's what Xbox boss Phil Spencer had to say about the announcement earlier today:
"Thanks [Bonnie] for your contribution to the legacy of Xbox and everything you’ve done to expand the Halo universe with experiences for millions of fans around the world."
On behalf of us here at Pure Xbox, we wish Bonnie Ross all the best in the future!
[source twitter.com, via windowscentral.com]
Comments 40
Well I hope everything goes well for her, sounds serious.
Finally some good halo news.
I've never understood what people's problem with Bonnie Ross is. The phrase "they need to get rid of Bonnie Ross" gets parroted a lot.
But why?
I am shocked.
I'm guessing she's getting a good payout, but still. They let her screw up for a very long time.
Staten will probably be promoted.
And for what it's worth, I do hope the family medical issues get sorted.
@Raffles She founded and ran 343i. Every problem of Halo for the last 10 years is ultimately hers.
I know Halo has had a rocky road but I appreciate her work regardless. I wish her luck and hope everything works out with her family.
Wish her and her family all the best.
Ok, we shall now see if it’s the studio or one person. Normally things are never one person
Though that does depend on power and the directive from up above.
I’ve done a lot of grumbling about 343i, but none of that matters when someone is handling this kind of situation.
Hoping for the best for her and her family.
I hope that family medical issue is taken care of and all the best for her and her loved ones. But I can't help wondering if that medical issue is just a classy excuse so that Xbox doesn't have to say that they fired her. Because upper management in 343 screw up big time and the leadership clearly had to change.
Lets be honest. They gave her some money to step down since Halo has been a failure her entire run, and the money was so it wouldnt become a bug issue for letting go of a female head
Obviously you hope everything is ok with her and her family.
But from a business standpoint, it was time. I have a lot of respect for Bonnie Ross but 343 has dropped the ball time and time again since Halo 4 and as head of the studio ultimately it was her responsibility. Hopefully they can get someone in there that can right the ship.
It's definitely good that she's going, but obviously not for the sad reasons of a family medical issue.
Something had to change at the top and the buck stopped with her. Wishing her all the best with her next endeavour.
Hopefully it's not the end of her legendary career.
If true, I wish her the best. But I'm always skeptical of these things.
That said, maybe we'll get someone in charge of 343 that actually cares about Halo.
@Dezzy70 This is my thought as well. Bonnie made some poor decisions, no doubt about it, but I also think she took the most heat. I personally feel Halo's problems stemmed far beyond her, up to and including Aaron Greenberg and Phil Spencer — but no one will ever say that.
@uptownsoul I mean you gotta continue your life some time. Just looked it up btw and he did so within three weeks 😭
@Royalblues a campaign as a grunt would be great. They are funny so I'd play some sort of Uggony liberation campaign.
As for infinite at this point i think they will need to give the first camping dlc for free as the game was clearly shipped light and i can't see them actually expecting people to pay for it in a year.
@EvenStephen7
Think I’m agreeing with you there
Bad leadership from the top, no micro management.
Or 343i did exactly what the top bad leadership wanted.
Either way in 6 years they managed between the lot of them to take what should of been an amazing AAA game in all areas the Halo version of BOTW or GOW, of course in different ways, different games and absolutely balls it up.
It is a game development catastrophe for the Halo franchise, that really has lost it with most gamers and general public and has not given the momentum to the consoles or game pass it could have done.
@Raffles Because she's a lier. She was the one who said Halo Infinite will have split screen co op and it's not getting it.
It's undeniable the more misses than hits with Halo that will dampen her career. But best wishes for her and her family's situation
Pretty obvious they fired her and the "medical issue" isn't the real reason she is leaving. About time as well. Halo deserves better.
I have a ton of respect for Bonnie Ross and her long career at Microsoft, but this needed to happen.
@uptownsoul oh I didn't know actually. Don't usually follow this type of gaming news but I guess I'll know that for nearer to a certainty now.
Thanks for letting me know
@Royalblues
Yes the gunplay was spot on and the grappling hook. God knows what the rest of the studio did with the six years.
I mean it should have been a Halo fps adventure unlike no other and a graphical biome Tour de France of zeta Halo.
I think the management gave them to much to do also on to many systems.
They stretched the team to far and the focus to far for their capacity and probably capability.
I have to therefore blame big Phil, he’s at the top of the tree, he hires and fires, he should have been micro managing one of the greatest Xbox franchises at least once a month.
While I never want to see anyone have to step down in these circumstances, I think it will ultimately be the best move for both parties. She’s done incredible work for a long time at Microsoft, and really did great things for Halo, but it’s time for a shake up at 343. Hope the best for her and for the new leadership.
@Royalblues That’s Matt Booty’s role as head of Xbox Game Studios he oversees all the studios.
Good riddance.
Very vague and kinda Strange, when medical coverage is completely tied to one's job in 'Murica. 🤔
It’s never a good sign if someone has to quit working for medical emergency’s as it usual means something quite serious, I wish her well. I personally like her Halo game.
@EVIL-C It’s not a conspiracy, sadly many leave work for medical issues. Have some respect.
This sounds serious, hope everything works out ok for her. She’s had a helluva career.
Quite a lot of churn at the top seats in 343 recently. I suspect this one would have been a choice made with some pressure, but I'll hope it gives her a chance to be there for familly.
Im a little concerned that Microsoft are simply swapping out a few bosses at 343, when their best franchise would be better off making a wholesale change to a new developer completely.
343 would be better being left to make something creative and fresh, whikst Halo clearly needs a complete reboot to regain any of its legendary status.
@Royalblues No snark intended, just a statement of fact. It's his remit to oversee all Xbox Game Studios and their titles.
Yes it's been super disappointing for anyone who every year throughout the Xbox One's life said 'next year's the year' to still be saying it almost 10 years later. Something at Microsoft/Xbox Game Studios just isn't right imho.
I'm usually an advocate of giving studios & developers the time they need to make the game they want, but this needs to be WITHIN REASON. They just can't seem to ship games regularly on time, and when they do they often aren't the bangers that we'd expect from first party and it's not unreasonable to expect more considering both Nintendo and Sony's release cadence and quality.
I'm also aware we've had a pandemic which has, and will continue to, set things back. So rightly we should give them some leeway. That all said other studios and platform holders are getting games out at a reasonable cadence even with all the long delays due to covid.
As to Compulsion, MS clearly saw SOMETHING they liked. Perhaps it was the zany, outside the box art design of We Happy Few, or a good pitch. I hope it wasn't Contrast which was average in the extreme. But I agree they don't seem to be hitting yet. However they are only 2 games in and the next one will be the first FULLY under MS's protective arm, so i'll wait to reserve judgment till then to see if they can show their true ability now unshackled from monetary concerns that rush games and deadlines.
Absolutely fantastic 🎉 literally so happy. Can’t stop thinking about it!
I actually loved Halo 4. The campaign was great, visual style and technically looked great, fun co op and Spartan Ops was a great addition. I wasn't as fond of Halo 5. A step down in visuals from catering to low powered hardware and the whole team thing doesn't work with MC like it did in Reach. Infinite has been great for me so far. I only play MP on the weekends and have plenty of ranks to go, and still haven't played the campaign yet. The big problems for me were that the game should have been 100 percent complete by the time it released after a year delay, with all features. It also should have been a visual tour de force like Halo CE was back in the day.
People are getting their hopes up that Bonnie was the cause of all Halo's problems. Hate to break it to you, but her leaving most likely isn't going to magically fix anything.
@SpacemanJupiter She can be the cause and there not be a magical fix.
Since she founded and ran the studio. The people who helped make all the big decisions, and failed to get their teams to hit deadlines or push in the right design directions, were hired by her. And after each failure, she failed to get the studio in to shape. She caused this situation.
And after 10 years and 3 mainline releases (along side other priducts), the studio is probably still a mess, and many of the hires still sitting in places they don't belong, it would take a firm hand, and at least a few years, to correct all the issues that Ross let stay. Whether the new bosses have that in them or not is to be seen. Not a magical fix.
But it's a better chance than her staying.
I've worked in PR and writing for some time. The abrupt resignation and the "leaving and attending to family illness" is Microsoft's way of allowing Bonnie Ross to "quit" with grace. In other words, she was pushed out.
@Royalblues Agreed. I think the effects of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. Yes Sony, Nintendo, Bandai Namco have all managed to get games out THIS year (most delayed from 2021) but what does that leave them for 2023.
On the flip side, it's not like i'm ever short of games to play, are you? I have a backlog longer than the Great Wall of China and Game Pass adds more games I want to play every month than I have time to play.
TLDR: We'll be fine.
@EVIL-C Not if she isn't the one that is sick. If she is a caretaker she will need a less demanding job to focus on that, but can pick something else up to cover her own medical insurance and dependents. She likely has enough money in the bank to weather a job transition. My mother had to do the same when I was severely injured as a kid (I was covered by my father's insurance but I needed a caretaker for a short period of time. )
Edit: I ended up on this article from another one and didn't look at the date. Sorry for pinging you so far after the fact.
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