Former Halo scribe Joseph Staten has joined Netflix’s burgeoning gaming division. On Monday, Staten tweeted that he will serve as the creative director on a new AAA game and original intellectual property from the streaming giant. “In my work life, there’s nothing I love more than collaborating with others to build worlds filled with iconic characters, deep mysteries, and endless adventures,” Staten wrote on Twitter. “So today, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let’s go!”
So today, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined @Netflix Games as Creative Director for a brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP. Let’s go! 2/2
— Joseph Staten (@joestaten) April 17, 2023
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Staten announced his departure from Microsoft. Before joining the tech giant in 2013, he worked as a writer and director of cinematics on Bungie’s first three Halo games. Staten later helped write and co-direct Destiny, but left the studio before the game’s release in 2014. Following his return to the Microsoft fold (Bungie was a Microsoft studio before it went independent in 2007), Staten worked as senior creative director on the Xbox Game Studios team for a number of years before moving to 343 Industries in 2020 to assist in the development of Halo Infinite. This past January, Microsoft reassigned Staten away from 343 at the same time it cut “at least” 95 jobs at the troubled developer.
On Monday, Staten said the game he’s working on at Netflix would be a “multiplatform” release. To date, the company’s gaming strategy has primarily centered around obtaining mobile publishing rights to respected indie titles like Into the Breach and Terra Nil. Funding the development of a multiplatform AAA game is significantly more ambitious and, it should be noted, risky.
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