One of Xbox’s most veteran developers, Kiki Wolfkill, has left the company. Wolfkill announced what she called a “difficult but exhilarating decision” on LinkedIn, confirming that April 17 was her last day at Microsoft after 28 years with the company.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunities that Microsoft has given me and the career that it let me build in an industry that I love. At the same time, there is a version of me outside of Microsoft that I’m excited to grow and evolve,” Wolfkill said. “I have so many learnings to carry forward and more impact to be made and I couldn’t be more inspired to climb the next mountain!”
Regarding what’s next for Wolfkill, she didn’t say, but said people should stay tuned. “More to come on that front,” she wrote.
Wolfkill started at Microsoft in February 1998 as the director of art for Microsoft Game Studios. She then joined 343 Industries and was executive producer on Halo 4. In 2015, she became the studio head at 343 Industries and led the company’s transmedia and entertainment division. In her latest role, Wolfkill was the head of Xbox film and TV. She was an executive producer on the Halo TV show at Paramount, which ran for two seasons before getting canceled.
Wolfkill’s departure from Xbox and Halo comes amid reported messiness at Halo Studios, though there is nothing connecting Wolfkill to any of it. The company’s longtime art director, Glen Israel, accused Halo Studios of unethical or unlawful activity, including fraud, favoritism, and cronyism, along with harassment. A Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central that the company does not publicly discuss individual employee issues, though it does take all claims seriously for current and former employees.
Another former Halo developer, Tyler Davis, said senior management “definitely did a lot of us dirty to cover some f**k ups up.”
“Those controlling the narrative make it so that just doesn’t work,” he said. “It’s always been the ‘good ole boys club’ of back stabbing shoulder down, ‘Get the f**k out of my way’ mentality,” he wrote.
Halo Studios is working on multiple new Halo games, including Halo: Campaign Remastered, which brings the Halo series to PlayStation 5 for the first time this year. The team is also reportedly working on a new live-service Halo game.