Halo developer says franchise is ‘here to stay’ after studio ‘hit hard’ by Microsoft layoffs

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries took to Twitter on Saturday to share a brief message about the franchise’s future. “Halo and Master Chief are here to stay,” 343 said in a statement attributed to studio head Pierre Hintze. “343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.”

The statement comes after Microsoft confirmed that it would lay off 10,000 employees before the end of March. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, 343 Industries was “hit hard” by the restructuring and lost Halo veteran and creative director Joe Staten – who joined the studio in 2020 to help bring Infinite over the finish line – to Microsoft’s publishing division. Staten’s reassignment follows a handful of other high-profile departures, including that of Slipspace Engine lead developer David Berger and 343 co-founder Bonnie Ross. Schreier couldn’t put a number to the cuts at 343, but he said Infinite’s campaign team was particularly affected by the cuts. Prior to the layoffs, the studio also had a “long-running” hiring freeze in place and had lost a lot of contractors in recent weeks and months. One former 343 staff member blamed the layoffs on “incompetent leadership up top.”  

Microsoft released Halo Infinite in 2021 to generally positive reviews, but the game has since struggled to maintain a consistent player base. On Steam, for instance, Infinite is currently averaging about 4,000 players per day, a steep drop from the 100,000 players it was averaging at launch. More than a year after the game’s release, Microsoft also has yet to announce new campaign content for Infinite. Halo fans rightfully have reason to be worried about the franchise’s future.

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Instagram adds a new ‘Quiet Mode’ and recommendation controls

Instagram is introducing a handful of features designed to give users more control over the app, starting with a new Quiet Mode. The tool functions a lot like your phone’s Do Not Disturb setting. When active, Instagram won’t push notifications to your device. Your profile will also display a note that you’re “in quiet mode,” and anyone who attempts to message you will receive an automatic reply that you’re not available.

You can set Quiet Mode to activate automatically at certain times of day. Once you’re outside those hours, Instagram will send you a summary of your notifications. Anyone can use Quiet Mode, but the company says it will prompt teens to use the feature if it notices they’re spending a lot of time scrolling through their feed late at night. Quiet Mode is available starting today in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Instagram Quiet Mode
Instagram

Alongside the new mode, Instagram is introducing a handful of features designed to give people more control over the photos and videos they see on the platform. Specifically, you can now tell the app the types of content you don’t want to be recommended to you. Starting with the Explore tab, you can select multiple tiles and tap “Not Interested” to shape Instagram’s content algorithm. Doing so will also affect what you see when you search for posts. Additionally, in an expansion of a feature that was already available for comments and direct messages, you can list specific words, hashtags and emoji you want Instagram to filter for when recommending content. You can access that tool through the “Hidden Words” section of the app’s privacy settings. One limitation is that filters will only work when the app detects the words you listed in hashtags and captions. Lastly, Instagram notes it recently added a feature that allows parents to see their teen’s app settings.

The subject of inappropriate recommendations came up during Adam Mosseri’s congressional hearing in 2021. Members of the Senate subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security grilled the head of Instagram about the content they saw the app steer them toward after creating fresh Instagram accounts designed to impersonate teens. Specifically, Utah Senator Mike Lee said he saw the Explore page of his finsta account change dramatically after following a single account recommended by Instagram. According to Lee, the app began recommending posts promoting body dysmorphia, sexualization of women and other content inappropriate for teen girls. “It went dark fast,” he said.

Whether the changes Instagram is introducing today will sufficiently address the concerns raised by lawmakers is hard to say, as Instagram is putting the onus on teen users to filter their feeds instead of doing that work itself.