343 Industries creative director Ryan Payton is quitting both studio and Halo 4, citing creative exhaustion for the move.
In a report by Kotaku, he explained that while he enjoyed his time at the company, "after a few years, there came a point where I wasn't creatively excited about the project anymore."
Kotaku notes that Payton was diagnosed with depression months ago, though the ex-343 staffer also states that " 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."
Payton moved to Microsoft from Kojima Productions, where he worked on Metal Gear Solid 4. The site reports that Payton is now starting up his own studio, Camouflaj, and is working on two titles.