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Gaming history is filled with tales of troubled development, but few are as legendary as Halo 2′s tumultuous journey to release.

While the 2004 Xbox classic is now revered as one of gaming’s most influential sequels, its creation was anything but smooth. Behind the scenes, passionate creative differences shaped what would eventually become the definitive Xbox multiplayer experience.

Among these creative battles was Bungie co-founder Jason Jones’ unwavering insistence on specific scenes making it into the final game—scenes that the writing team struggled to incorporate in a way that made narrative sense.

The scene that almost didn’t make it

The development of Halo 2 was famously chaotic, with Bungie’s ambition constantly outpacing what the original Xbox could handle. By 2003, the team had to scrap nearly two years of work and start fresh on many elements. Yet through this turmoil, certain creative visions remained non-negotiable for the studio’s leadership.

Generative AI is top of the agenda for Netflix and its games arm, with news of the venture emerging days after 35 people lost their jobs at the company.

In a sign of the times, Mike Verdu, who previously had ‘vice president of Netflix Games’ on his business cards, has changed roles. Verdu’s new title is vice president for genAI for games – something he announced himself on LinkedIn (via VentureBeat). In his place, Alain Tascan will take over his old position as Netflix Games VP.

In a lengthy statement on the job-centric social media platform, Verdu said that his new role is reflective of Netflix’s investment in generative AI in order to “accelerate the velocity of development and unlock truly novel game experiences.”

“I am focused on a creator-first vision for AI, one that puts creative talent at the center, with AI being a catalyst and an accelerant,” Verdu says.

The video game industry is having a record-bad year, with more than 10,000 layoffs in the first half of 2024 alone. Now, Netflix is adding to those job cuts: After just two years of operation, it has closed its Aaa game development studio in Southern California.

Internally referred to as “Team Blue,” the studio opened in 2022, and was supposed to be the center of Netflix’s bigger gaming ambitions. The streamer first got into gaming in 2021, and was at first largely focused on acquiring outside studios and producing lower-lift mobile games. It acquired indie developers Night School, Boss Fight, Next Games, and Spry Fox, and then opened Team Blue and another studio in Helsinki.

Game File, which was first to report the closure, says Team Blue was aiming to make big-budget, multi-device, Aaa games. To do that, it tapped several big hires with lots of industry experience: Overwatch producer Chacko Sonny, former Halo creative lead Joseph Staten,...

Despite all the work put into Netflix’s gaming segment, some investors have questioned the value of such an expensive foray into video games.

Netflix is determined to expand its boundaries beyond video streaming. The service has already reached the pinnacle of success amongst its peers, amassing more subscribers and a better profit margin than any of its competing streaming services.

Mobile games that are available on smart TVs and PCs are the next step in Netflix’s gaming evolution. Netflix is already testing a function that allows users to turn their phones into controllers. Games based on popular Netflix series like “Wednesday” and “Squid Game” are coming to the platform soon. Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com

The Wall Street Journal's Jessica Toonkel, Sarah Needleman and Sarah Krouse report that Netflix is still full speed ahead on its efforts to grow its video game segment. The company will bring its...

Netflix fans in the United Kingdom and Canada will soon get to test two games on devices other than their phones. The company announced that a limited beta test in Canada and the U.K. would allow users to play “Oxenfree” and “Molehew’s Mining Adventure” on PC, Mac, and select streaming devices. PC and Mac players on a supported browser can simply use their mouse and keyboard to play the streaming games right on their device, while users who stream using Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, LG Smart TVs, Nvidia Shield, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, and Walmart Onn devices can use their smartphone as a controller.

Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com

Back in March, the seeds of this new functionality were planted. A Bloomberg reporter found hints in the app’s code, alerting them to play games on TV sets as well as asking users...

The future looks to be all fun and games for Netflix. The world’s largest streaming provider is on track to add 40 titles to its mobile gaming library in 2023, and its ambitions are set much higher, according to a new report from Variety.

Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com

According to the report, Netflix has hired Joseph Staten as one of its creative directors. Staten was formerly employed by game developer 343 Industries, and was the creative lead behind “Halo Infinite,” the newest installment in the Halo franchise. Staten told Variety he has been retained by Netflix to oversee the development of a “brand-new Aaa multiplatform game and original IP” for the company.

That means Staten will be in charge of developing a game not based on any of Netflix’s well-known franchises like “Stranger Things.” The title will be available on consoles, PCs and more devices, and the “Aaa” designation...

San Francisco, Jan 23 (Ians) Video game Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has shared a brief message about the franchise’s future after being hit hard by the Microsoft layoffs.

“Halo and Master Chief are here to stay,” 343 said in a statement attributed to studio head Pierre Hintze, reports Engadget.

“343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great,” it added.

Halo Infinite is a 2021 first-person shooter game developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios.

The statement comes after Microsoft confirmed that it would lay off 10,000 employees before the end of March.

Moreover, the report mentioned that the restructuring “hit hard” 343 Industries, which lost Halo veteran and creative director Joe Staten, who joined the studio in 2020 to help bring Infinite to completion, to Microsoft’s publishing division.

Meanwhile, Microsoft also announced plans to shut...

By many accounts, Halo Infinite is an overall fantastic, if notably flawed, game. Gamers and critics alike hailed the game’s campaign as a return to greatness, especially after the disappointment that was Halo 5: Guardians. However, despite some overall improvements, Halo Infinite shipped incomplete, and its developers promised that those missing features would eventually be patched in. Well, you know what they say: Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

When 343 Industries announced Halo Infinite’s Season 2, the company provided a roadmap that included estimated dates for legacy/missing features such as the Forge and campaign co-op. Recently, 343 updated its timeline with new release dates for most of those features, but a few things got lost in the process. According to the latest Halo Infinite update video, the Forge and online campaign co-op will launch side-by-side on November 8. Unfortunately, all work on the game’s previously promised...

"Halo" is a story about a super soldier known as Master Chief (aka John-117) who fights aliens in space over ancient technology. You might think from the description that it's a story you've seen many times before. Certainly, "Halo" wears its influences on its sleeve. But don't underestimate the world of the games, which has thus far been the subject of over 30 novels, several comics, and one season of a live-action television show. Bungie cut their teeth directing the "Marathon" trilogy of narratively ambitious first-person shooters. "Halo" was targeted at a wider audience, but its developers still took the time to flesh out the game's setting. Rather than the heavy metal mishmash of "Doom" and its ilk, this would be a world of alien religious sects, military jargon, and Gregorian chanting.

Ed Fries, who ran Microsoft Game Studios at the time the first "Halo" was released, said in Vice's oral...

Halo Infinite‘s story and its connection to Halo 5: Guardians remains a closely guarded secret at 343 Industries, but the studio lifted the curtain just a bit on the game’s campaign at E3 2021. With a brief, 2-minute story teaser, 343 introduced an interesting twist to Halo Infinite: Master Chief is now working with a new AI construct, one with more than a passing resemblance to Cortana, the Spartan’s original AI companion who became the series’ villain in Halo 5.

The trailer begins with Master Chief floating through space, making his way through the wreckage of a ship while talking to the Pilot, his human companion, through a comlink. Master Chief eventually encounters the mysterious AI, whose voice sounds suspiciously like Jen Taylor’s Cortana. When asks her where he can find Cortana, the AI responds that “the rogue AI known as Cortana is gone. She’s been deleted.”

The...

Halo Infinite has seen a fair number of delays since it was announced at E3 2018 and today 343 Industries and Microsoft announced the release date has moved to Fall 2021. Joseph Staten, former head writer/cinematic lead/creative director at Bungie over the classic titles in the series, said in a blog post that he was […]

The post Halo Infinite Pushed Back to Fall 2021 appeared first on Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture..

Joseph Staten, senior creative director at Xbox, has joined the Halo Infinite team as project lead for the game’s single-player campaign.

Staten revealed the news on Twitter. “I’m thrilled to join @Halo to help them ship Halo Infinite,” he posted. “As the project lead for the Infinite Campaign, I will be supporting the team’s existing, great leaders and empowering them to do their best work.”

A community blog post from 343 Industries noted that Staten was involved with all of Bungie’s previous Halo titles, as well as Destiny, before joining Xbox Game Studios in 2014. Recently, he was ...

Joseph Staten, senior creative director at Xbox, has joined the Halo Infinite team as project lead for the game’s single-player campaign.

Staten revealed the news on Twitter. “I’m thrilled to join @Halo to help them ship Halo Infinite,” he posted. “As the project lead for the Infinite Campaign, I will be supporting the team’s existing, great leaders and empowering them to do their best work.”

A community blog post from 343 Industries noted that Staten was involved with all of Bungie’s previous Halo titles, as well as Destiny, before joining Xbox Game Studios in 2014. Recently, he was ...

Bungie's hit multiplayer shooter had its story "substantially revised" before release a legal document has confirmed...

Bungie's much-hyped shooter Destiny launched last year on a wave of advertising hype and a clamour of gamer interest. But as sales broke records, some critics asked, where was the deep, expansive story Bungie had boasted about before release? The answer to that question has appeared from a surprising source.

Over the past few months, composer and former Bungie employee Marty O'Donnell has been locked in a legal battle with the studio, with O'Donnell claiming that Bungie fired him "without cause" in April last year. It's a case O'Donnell has since won within the last day or two, and in its aftermath, a public legal document from the case has emerged thanks to Venturebeat. 

That document reveals that Destiny's story was "substantially revised" before release, which is why the game's launch was delayed from...

By Kevin Kelly

"Destiny" has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the game industry, what with the Bungie/Activision contract leaking amidst the "Call of Duty" court case last May, the story/art leak in November, and Bungie itself even teased the game deep inside of "Halo 3: Odst". But those were all just small pieces of the puzzle, and now we’ve finally been able to sit down with the studio and officially take a look at the game.

Well, at least we’ve seen pieces of the game. It’s a bit like Leonardo da Vinci showing you a palette, some paints, a brush, and a canvas, and then saying, “Here’s what I’ll be using to paint the Mona Lisa.” Because this was a first look at their new creation, it was very top-level, explaining the story, and blasting us with a lot of concept art.

Bungie the former makers of Halo have announced the code name for their next title published by Activision: Tiger. In addition, Bungie, as part of their 20th anniversary celebration also showed what could be considered concept art with the blue symbol in space is rumored to be a possible logo for the game.

And a near hour long documentary video dubbed ‘O Brave New World’ that is a nostalgic look back at all the titles Bungie have worked on in the past;

More IGN Videos

Bungie’ Joseph Staten said;

“We feel responsible for not just telling an isolated story but for building a universe that at some point is going to become more “the fans” than ours, It’s going to take a life of its own.”

Most people have speculated that the secret title Bungie has dubbed Tiger, will be an Mmo (Massively Multiplayer Online) shooter that is set in space.

Following the record-breaking $200 million launch day for Microsoft’s “Halo: Reach” on September 14, DreamWorks is “renewing its efforts to obtain the rights” to a Halo movie.

Some quick history: the project, based on the collectively $2 billion video game franchise, has been dead for several years after Universal and Fox partnered in 2005 to bring the faceless Master Chief to the screen. A script from ace screenwriter Alex Garland was commissioned, Peter Jackson was retained as a producer, and newcomer Neill Blomkamp (who ultimately directed District 9) was selected to realize the vision. But climbing costs and Hollywood politics halted production and Halo was shelved by 2007.

Before the release of “Reach,” Microsoft’s Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor told Variety they are “still interested in a Halo movie… but [they] won’t move on it until there’s a great reason to do it.” He added, the film would be...

Last week's groundbreaking, 10-year publishing deal between Activision and Bungie was met with shock across the industry, especially given the widely reported issues between the publisher and Infinity Ward, the developer of "Modern Warfare 2." The ousting of the two studio heads at Infinity Ward, followed by the departure of a chunk of its senior staff, made it a strange time to herald a brand new relationship with a big-name developer.

From the outside, it appeared as if Activision was just swapping its high-profile studio with another, but the Bungie deal has been in the works long before the major conflict with Infinity Ward became apparent. Brian Jarrard, the Community Director at Bungie, spoke to MTV News recently and said that they started having discussions with publishers a year ago. He went on to say that, with Activision in particular, "this discussion dates back about nine months." That would put the...

"Halo 3: Odst" managed to become a fairly successful extension of "Halo 3," despite not starring Master Chief. In addition to the game's disc read error complaints, though, it caught some flack from critics for its price point and level design in some places. Bungie took that feedback on the chin, though, and explained what they would differently if given a second chance.

"We got criticized, fairly, for doing a poor job communicating what 'Odst' was, an expansion pack or a full-fledged, Aaa release," the game's writer & creative director Joseph Staten told G4. "It’s impossible to know, but my gut says that if we’d never said the words 'expansion pack' we would have seen an appreciable increase in the review scores."

Staten also tackled the subject of level design in New Mombasa, which Russ pointed out in his "Halo 3: Odst" review in September.

"One of the nighttime city...