Newsbrief: From the original Halo in 2001 through to Halo Reach, Joe Staten's writing talents were an integral part of the sci-fi shooter franchise. Now, he's heading back into the fold. Tweets out of Microsoft and his LinkedIn profile reveal: He's joined Microsoft. Staten left Bungie in September, midway through development on Destiny -- for which he was serving as writer and design director -- to seek "new creative challenges." Those creative challenges may not be so new for Staten after all, as Microsoft now shepherds the Halo franchise via its internal studio, 343 Industries. While Staten's specific role on any forthcoming Microsoft projects is unclear, he's joined the company as a "senior creative director," according to his LinkedIn profile. The tweets in question, from Microsoft studio manager Mike Ybarra and marketing/community maven Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb: