Former Halo lead Joseph Staten joins Netflix Games as Creative Director

Published , by TJ Denzer

It looks like former Halo lead Joseph Staten is set to begin work at Netflix Games as a Creative Director on a new AAA game & IP. Recently, Staten left a high-level position at Microsoft as a head of Xbox Publishing and the Halo franchise Head of Creative, but mentioned that he was preparing to move on to a new adventure in game development. We apparently have our answer as to what that new adventure is as of this week.

Staten announced his new position at Netflix Games in his personal Twitter on April 17, 2023. According to Staten, he is being positioned at Netflix Games as a Creative Director on a new project. Staten could not say what the project was, other than the fact that it’s a new IP and being built up as a AAA multiplatform game. Given Staten’s pedigree as a major narrative contributor to the first three Halo games, as well as a lead on Halo Infinite’s single-player campaign, it seems Netflix is investing big into whatever Staten is working on.

Joseph Staten announced his new position at Netflix Games as Creative Director this week, alongside news that he's working on a new AAA multiplatform game in a new IP.
Source: Joseph Staten

Staten just announced his exit from Xbox and the Halo Head of Creative position last week. In said announcement, Staten shared that he was set to “embark on a new adventure”. Meanwhile, Netflix aggressively investing in gaming and various studios since the official launch of its Games division in 2021. The company bought the developers behind Oxenfree and Oxenfree 2, as well as announcing previously that it was working on a AAA game for PC. It is unknown if that announcement has anything to do with Staten’s game.

Nonetheless, Staten seems to be set at Netflix Games for the foreseeable future. As we await details of the project he’s working on, stay tuned for further updates on this story right here at Shacknews.