[UPDATE 9/21] Ghost just announced via twitter that he is joining Battlefield!

I’m excited to announce that I’m officially working on the competitive Battlefield experience under my old colleague, John Nelson! — Eric Hewitt / Ghost (@GH057ayame) September 21, 2017

It was revealed today that Eric “Gh057ayame” Hewitt will be leaving 343 Industries.

Words cannot describe my mindset, my emotions, or my journey. This is not a goodbye, as Halo will always be a big part of my life… — Eric Hewitt / Ghost (@GH057ayame) September 8, 2017

Yet, I’ve decided to take up an old friend on a great opportunity – one that would be irresponsible to pass up. With that said… — Eric Hewitt / Ghost (@GH057ayame) September 8, 2017

I love you all, and I hope to return. — Eric Hewitt / Ghost (@GH057ayame) September 8, 2017

Hewitt was hired at 343 Industries in 2013 after acting as a liaison between the current Halo developers and the competitive Halo 4 community. Upon being hired, Eric joined 343’s “Pro Team”, a group of contractors tasked with refining Halo 5’s gameplay experiences to be balanced for all skill sets.

Since the release of Halo 5, Hewitt has worked as an analyst and commentator for the Halo Championship Series and has designed and released new playlists and sustain updates for Halo 5: Guardians. His talented work on Halo 5 includes, but is not limited to:

The Halo: CE Anniversary playlist

The upcoming Halo 3 Classic playlist

Competitively optimizing HCS gameplay

Numerous additional sustain playlist updates

Weapon and map balancing and tuning

Ghost has long interacted with our passionate forum community, and the competitive Halo community as a whole—one of the few developers to do so. With his departure, a potential disconnect between the Halo community and 343 Industries may become even more severe.

With 343 Industries’ esports program consistently falling under heavy scrutiny when compared to programs ran by Call of Duty and Gears of War, Eric’s departure leaves even more to be questioned about the future of competitive Halo.

Eric has not announced his future plans, but we speculate he will find a new and welcoming home in esports or game development. We can say with confidence that he will be a valuable asset for any studio or team he partners with.

We wish Eric the best of luck in his future endeavors, and thank him for his dedicated service in attempting to improve the Halo franchise. Ghost has continuously been a valued member of the Team Beyond and Halo communities, and we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next.

– Team Beyond