The co-creator of Halo and creative force behind most of the franchise has joined EA to help build a new studio in Seattle, Washington.
Marcus Lehto announced on his Twitter today (October 19) that he will be game director at this new studio, which will be working on “first-person games”. Lehto was art director at Bungie between 1997-2007, with his LinkedIn profile stating he was “brought on to begin co-creation of [a] new action shooter game, resulting in the creation of Halo.”
Hey everyone, I’m very excited to announce that I’ve joined @EA as a Game Director, building a new studio in the Seattle area working on first-person games. I can’t wait to share more about what we’re creating! pic.twitter.com/GnfVFNLSaW
— Marcus Lehto (@game_fabricator) October 19, 2021
The last title Lehto worked on in the franchise was Halo: Reach as the game’s creative director, he then worked at V1 Interactive as the studio president. There he developed Disintegration, a sci-fi first-person shooter. The multiplayer for the game was shut down less than six months after it released, and V1 Interactive announced in March of this year that it would be closing down as well.
Despite not finding an online player base, V1 issued a statement at the time thanking players and developers: “We want to thank all the talented people at V1, both past and present, who helped make the last 5 years wonderful. And a heartfelt thanks to the amazing community that supported us.”
When asked in the thread under his announcement if Lehto’s Seattle studio would be the same one as ex-Monolith vice president Kevin Stephens, Lehto confirmed that it was in fact a different studio entirely.
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