Halo Art Director Exits After Working on Series For 17 Years, With Cryptic Message Expressing Discontent

Glenn Israle, an art director who’s actively worked on Halo for nearly 17 years, has left Halo Studios of his own volition, with a cryptic message suggesting it was on bad terms.

Israel joined Bungie in 2008 when it was working on Halo, and then transitioned to 343 Industries in 2010, when Microsoft took over stewardship of the series. Since then, he’s served as a concept artist and senior concept artist, with his first official credit as Halo 3: ODST.

The departure from Halo Studios was announced on Israel’s LinkedIn page, where he states he ” am officially no longer contributing to the Halo universe. There is little more I can say for the moment, though I intend to share this particular story in its entirety when it is absolutely safe to do so next year.”

It’s not exactly clear what the “next year” part of the comment refers to, but it does imply he’ll be free to talk about what happened in 2026.

“I have a message for anyone and everyone who needs to hear it,” Israel says, “I know that the state of our industry seems dire, but never forget that you are *free to choose*. No illusion of security nor promise of wealth or fame or power is worth trading away your health, your dignity, your ethics or values – and no one can force you to. Stay strong, take evidence when necessary, and find where you belong.”

It’s a fairly strong statement that implies something happening behind the scenes. And Xbox has already been mired in controversy and mass layoffs over the last few years. In 2024, the company closed four studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks. And just earlier this year, in June, Microsoft cut a staggering 9,000 jobs.

Microsoft has also seen employees protesting over its ties to the Israeli military with its cloud technology. In August, Microsoft workers occupied the company’s HQ in protest, and just today, a 13-year engineer resigned, citing the military contracts as the reason.

With Halo, the last game in the series, Halo Infinite, released in 2021. While the game was met with fairly warm reception, it struggled to maintain its multiplayer base and has gone through changes ever since.

At last year’s Halo World Championships, 343 Industries rebranded to Halo Studios and announced it was working on multiple Halo games developed with Unreal Engine 5. The studio will, apparently, have a “deep dive” on the future of Halo at this year’s World Championships, taking place on October 24.