Joe Staten returns to the Mother Ship

Joseph Staten, who's claim to fame is having a huge role in the development of Halo during a long and sucessful career at Bungie Studios has jumped ship and gone to work for the Mothership, AKA Microsoft as confirmed by Xbox's Studio Manger, Mike Ybarra:

Thrilled to welcome back Joe Staten to the Microsoft Studios family. #XboxOne
— Mike Ybarra (@XboxQwik) January 9, 2014

This is not to say Staten is working on Halo - that's the role of 343 Industries which is a subset of Microsoft.

Indeed, it's been er.. stated:

"Joseph is not working directly on the next Halo title. As a senior creative director, he will help create the world's best entertainment on Xbox, as well as help shape our franchise strategy for some Microsoft Studios titles. He'll also be one of our leading ambassadors to the game development community, building on his many years of experience and relationships with developers and fans. We're excited to share more about Joseph's role in the future."

Staten has spent 4 years writing the new Bungie game Destiny, so his legacy at Bungie is not yet even truly begun!