Ex-Halo, Destiny creative director Joe Staten goes to Netflix Games

The co-creator of the Halo and Destiny franchises, Joseph Staten, is now at Netflix, where he’ll serve as creative director on a “brand-new AAA multiplatform game and original IP,” he announced Monday. Staten announced his departure from MicrosoftHe served as the senior creative director of and creative head at Halo InfiniteThe first week of this month.

“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 said in a tweetHis new role at Netflix. “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!”

Staten’s hiring signals an important investment by Netflix in its games division. Last month, Netflix announced that it had 16 in-house games under development and another 70 with partners. Netflix’s owned games studios include Night School Studio, Boss Fight Entertainment, Next Games, Moonloot, and Spry Fox.

“Our goal is to develop a broad portfolio of games — in different genres and formats — because we believe everyone can find joy in games if they discover the one (or many!) that is right for them,” said Leanne Loombe, vice president for external games at Netflix, in March.

Staten was a longtime staffer at Bungie and Microsoft, serving as a creative lead “responsible for developing the story foundations of the Halo universe,” and writing “multi-season, serial stories and expanded fiction” for Destiny as a co-creative lead, according to his LinkedIn profile. Staten was a long-time Bungie and Microsoft employee, serving as a creative lead “responsible for developing the story foundations of the Halo universe” and writing “multi-season, serial stories and expanded fiction” for Destiny in his role of cocreator. Destiny, Staten left Bungie after a 15-year career there to rejoin Microsoft and work with Xbox Games Studios’ global publishing group. In 2020, he joined Halo developers 343 Industries to work on Halo InfiniteYou can ship your game for Windows PC, Xbox One or Xbox Series X.

Netflix began its foray into the gaming industry in 2021. The company focused on mobile titles based on their original IP. Stranger Things. The streaming company acquired several mobile gaming deals exclusives since then. This includes titles such as Spiritfarer, Terra Nil, Inmortality, Poinpy” Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s RevengeNetflix subscribers can enjoy mobile access as part of their regular subscription.

The company’s shift to gaming coincides with an increasing number of game adaptations for Netflix, including hits like League of Legends spinoff Arcane, Cuphead ShowThe anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, and forthcoming projects based on BioShock, Dragon Age, Pokémon, and Tomb Raider.