Marcus Lehto has been a part of the gaming industry for a long time, even before helping createHalo. With no current studio or announced game in development, it seems like Lehto’s next game chapter is one that will turn heads.
Lehto was one of the co-creators ofHalo, and was a part of Bungie in various roles all the way through the originalDestiny. After that game’s successful launch, Lehto left Bungie to create his own studio, V1 Interactive, which eventually shippedDisintegration, a hybrid first-person-shooter, real-time strategy game that may have been too ambitious for its own good. The online, multiplayer-only game lasted a couple of months before shutting down its servers, which eventually lead to the closing of V1 Interactive earlier this year. With all that said, Lehto is likely looking to recover from howDisintegrationand V1 Interactive ended.
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In an update on Twitter, Lehto announced that large career decisions would be happening this week. He writes, “Making some pretty big decisions with my career this week. Some of you will support it, some will not. I just ask that you all join me on this next leg of journey. It’s going to be big!” The succinct message conveys where Lehto is coming from, and the magnitude of his decision is in his life. WithV1 Interactive’s shutdown, Lehto can only go up from here.
Lehto’s post received replies from fans and colleagues, many of which Lehto responded to. In one conversation he assures he’s not leaving the game industry, stating, “Not going to retire,” followed by a smiley face emoji. Another response references the hauntingHalo: Reachtagline, “From the beginning, we knew the end,” to which Lehto jokes, “I do hope it’s not that tragic!” He lastly confirms though that he is not joining 343 Industries, though he will “always have a strong connection withHalono matter what.”
Whatever Lehto’s decision ends up being, it is clear that he has a whole community of people behind him, wishing for his success. No developer wants to see their game not do well, but as the cycle of the gaming industry works, trends come and go, and some games get more support than others. The silver lining is that Lehto will take what helearned fromDisintegrationand V1 Interactive to whatever his next chapter is, and hopefully deliver something even better. As one ofHalo’s original creators, there’s no telling what Lehto’s next game may be.
