Bungie veteran Joseph Staten is to pen one of Microsoft’s next big exclusives.
Staten joined Bungie back in 1998, starting off as product manager for Myth II: Southblighter before moving into the development side of things one year later, desiging the third-person action game Oni.
In 2000, he helped co-create Bungie magnum opus, Halo, writing both the first game in the series and its sequel, as well as directing cinematics for the sci-fi shooters.
Staten also assisted with the cancelled cinematic adaptation of Halo, later teaming up with film director Peter Jackson to create an original game in the franchise, which was also unreleased.
More recently, he served as the de facto creative director for Destiny, before departing Bungie in 2013 to move over to Microsoft.
Now Staten is taking the writing lead on Xbox One exclusive ReCore, which is set for release this Spring.
Staten will work alongside Mega Man co-creator Keiji Inafune, who is also attached to Comcept and Armature Studios project.
Speaking to The New York Times on the subject of female lead characters in video games, Staten discussed the role of ReCore protagonist Joule.
"The male gender does not have the monopoly on heroism," he said.
"Joule is emblematic of this conviction, and we hope she’s a character who stands strong and stands out in a market filled with male heroes."