In 2022, Linde plans to “pursue a new opportunity.”
Aaron Linde, the lead narrative on Halo Infinite and the creator of almost all of the campaign’s radio banter, is departing 343 Industries to pursue “a new opportunity in 2022.” There’s no indication of where or what this new opportunity will be, but it was evidently a “tough decision” to go.
Linde posted on Twitter, “Bittersweet news to report: I’m departing 343 Industries in 2022 to pursue a new opportunity.” “It was a tremendously difficult decision; Halo Infinite will forever be one of my proudest achievements in my career, and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it.”
Linde congratulated his coworkers at 343 Industries, the outstanding voice cast that “enhanced our work in every single line delivery,” and, of course, the Halo Infinite fans who bought and played the game.
Bittersweet news to report: I’m departing 343 Industries to pursue a new opportunity in 2022. It was a terrifically difficult decision; Halo Infinite will remain one of the proudest achievements of my career for the rest of my life. I’m so grateful to have been a part of it.
— Aaron Linde (@aaronlinde) December 31, 2021
Linde congratulated his comrades at 343 Industries, the outstanding voice cast that “enhanced our work in every single line delivery,” and, of course, the Halo Infinite fans who bought and played the game.
From August 2019 to the present, Linde was the lead story designer at 343 Industries. According to Linde’s LinkedIn biography, he “directed a small team of writers in the conception, development, and execution of all open-world narrative content” for Halo Infinite. “Over 15,000 lines of enemy and Marine banter, over 100 radio drama-style audio logs, and ambient dialogue features like Glibnub, the Banished minister of propaganda,” according to the game’s description.
Linde worked as a senior writer at Bungie for five months in 2019 on the Shadowkeep expansion before joining 343. The short stay could be linked to Bungie’s mistreatment of its narrative design team, as detailed in a recent investigation. Bungie has been attempting to improve its workplace atmosphere, so it’s possible that this chance is related to Linde’s previous position.
Or it could be something completely different, in which case we’ll have to wait for Linde to tweet about it. Alternatively, he may improve his LinkedIn profile.