‘Didn’t you just lay off most of Halo Studios?’ Former Halo developers slam Matt Booty’s 25th anniversary post

Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty marked Halo’s 25th anniversary in a LinkedIn post, prompting former developers to criticise his handling of the franchise. They accused him of failing to address alleged mismanagement at Halo Studios and questioned the contrast between celebrating Halo and recent staff cuts.

Former art director Glenn Israel alleged that Booty knew about contract violations, poor morale and other misconduct, claims he has made previously about the studio. Former art director Justin Dinges asked whether Booty had just laid off most of Halo Studios, while world artist Josh Rife dismissed him as “nothin’ but a suit”. The article describes the franchise as struggling after a run of poorly received releases, studio changes and outsourcing.