Halo Franchise Director Frank O'Connor Appears to Have Left Microsoft - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 17 April 2023 / 2,258 Views
It appears that Halo Franchise Director, Frank O'Connor, has left Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn page.
O'Connor updated his LinkedIn page to reveal his role as the Franchise Creative Director on Halo at Microsoft ended this month.
There is a new job listing for a Franchise Creative Director that started he started working at in March, however, the company is not listed.
O'Connor has been working on the Halo franchise since 2004. He worked as a Writer and Community Manager until May 2008 before he became the Franchise Creative Director.
If O'Connor has left Microsoft and 343 Industries, he would be one of several high-level employees who have left the studio. 343 Industries founder and studio head Bonnie Ross left the studio in September 2022, Halo Infinite multiplayer creative director Tom French left in December 2022, and David Berger, who led development on Halo Infinite's Slipspace Engine, also left last year.
Joseph Staten, who was the head of creative on Halo Infinite and cinematic director on the original Halo trilogy, announced earlier this month he was leaving Xbox and Microsoft.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Good. This is was one of the last higher ups from 343 of old. It's time for fresh blood to take the reins.
OH THANK GOD! To this day, I'll never know how someone goes from being a Community Manager to becoming creative head over a franchise like Halo. This was actually one of the guys I was hoping would've been released a long time ago.
I really like the new headship that's now over 343. Unfortunately, gonna be a while before we really see progress with a new game, but Halo Infinite actually started taking shape not too long after this new leadership took over. Even to the point of overdelivering.
Unfortunate but also long overdue I’m afraid. His lore choices were almost universally panned by the community and he was quite rude/dismissive of that same community.
I am hoping this ongoing turnover of 343 senior leadership will result in some fresh ideas and direction for the franchise. Halo is too important to be abandoned
Good article!
Great. Its finally time that Halo starts picking its direction rather than doing these Bungie and 343 hybrids. Pick one and focus on that.
I enjoyed all the Halos. I actually preferred 343s style however the only issue was the Story of 5 which it can addressed. The actual mechanics, production value and gameplay were all amazing. However these days they are trying to please everyone by trying to add the hardcore, Bungie fans, 343 fans and modern gamers. Its just too much that its losing its identity.
Bring in the fresh blood and move forward not backwards.
