One of the biggest reveals at this year's E3 was the announcement and confirmation that 343 Industries would be carrying on the Halo legacy with a brand new trilogy. Yes, after years of waiting, Halo 4 was finally unveiled as the first part in the recently-branded 'Reclaimer Trilogy', and fans everywhere have been giddy with speculation on the game ever since.

However, there is at least one individual at 343 Industries who wasn't content with his work on Halo 4, and has decided to leave the company. The ex-343 employee is none other than Creative Director Ryan Payton. Many may remember Payton for his work on Metal Gear Solid, before joining up with Microsoft to work on the Halo franchise, and the veteran's involvement will surely be missed by fans of the franchise.

Kotaku recently had an opportunity to ask Payton a few questions about why he was abandoning his position as Halo 4's Creative Director, and his reasoning was very reasonable — and even admirable.

"I had a great run at Microsoft. I don't regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn't creatively excited about the project anymore."

"The Halo I wanted to build was fundamentally different and I don't think I had built enough credibility to see such a crazy endeavor through."

Ryan Payton announced that he was opening up his own studio called Camouflaj. With this studio, Mr. Payton hopes to create a video game that "one billion people play at once", and something that hits people "harder than a great book or film". Those goals are lofty indeed, and while the former Creative Director of Halo 4 know that some people call him crazy for following a dream like that, he doesn't seem to care.

"I think time is the most valuable thing we have, and I've decided that I'm not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn't speak to my values."

Ryan still seems confident that Halo 4 will be a great game, so nobody should worry about the future of the series.

Those anxiously waiting for Halo 4 do have the pending release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to get excited about, and if that's still not enough then there's always the Halo 4 cameo in Forza 4 to look forward to.

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Source: Kotaku