Halo announcer SPEAKS OUT against 343 — Jeff Steitzer opens up

In a Q&A with The Halo Archive, Jeff Steitzer said 343 Industries micromanage him and don't consult him about which lines of his they're going to use. They decide without any input from him, and every time he guesses which ones the producers will use for the games, he's almost always wrong. Halo 3 had the best announcer style and it's Steitzer's favorite too. His modulation in Halo 3 is perfect, he sounds raw and austere, the way he spoke had an air of authority but it was more so subtle than apparent. His neutral yet deep tones naturally commanded attention even though he wasn't necessarily trying to do so, but now he's been veered so far from that. All of Bungie's games had this same aesthetic, which shows that the audio designers were aware of the characteristics of his voice and understood what made it exciting and popular with the players. In the games by 343, they made Jeff Steitzer express his voice in an unduly excited and jolly way, approaching the realm of a sports announcer (I guess we can thank Josh Holmes' resume for that). The military-like tone and mature sounds have been turned into overly animated, enthusiastic cheers and encouragement, which gives the impression of pampering the player. It sounds artificial and unlike anything from the original games. 343's design decisions are abysmal and worthy of derision. Steitzer is absolutely correct when he says that 343 want to put their "stamp" on Halo to make it their own thing and be different than Bungie. They not only tried to replace the entire cast in Halo 4, but they also experimented with game modes without Steitzer in Halo 5, where they also later unveiled a $10 announcer pack called Voices of War, which included three different character voices, none of which were Jeff Steitzer. They repeated history with Halo Infinite by removing Steitzer from Big Team Battle — a game mode where he'd otherwise have a clear presence as medals are earned often. 343 created a new character named Spartan Commander Agryna and had her voice over the game, leaving Steitzer completely out of it. Fans had to beg 343 for a long time to get them to bring Steitzer back. These asinine moves by 343 are proof of their desire to get rid of Steitzer. They test the waters with small changes to see what they can get away with, only rolling back if there's uproar, just like they did with pricey microtransactions. 343 don't want to have staple Halo elements if they can replace them with their own ideas. They have no respect for Halo's history and are conceited and self-centered. They want to remove whatever they can to make their mark more and more clear. They're awful developers who shouldn't have ever been given the keys to such a legendary and beloved franchise. This video was posted with THA's permission. Original video:    • The Halo Archive - Jeff Steitzer Q&A