Who directed the original Halo: Combat Evolved?

Jason Jones directed the original Halo: Combat Evolved.

Jones was a co-founder of Bungie and one of the studio’s central creative figures. He helped guide Halo through its unusually complicated development, during which the project changed from a real-time strategy game to a third-person shooter and finally to a first-person shooter.

Microsoft acquired Bungie in 2000 and positioned Halo as the flagship launch title for the Xbox. With only about nine months to finish the game for the new console, Jones pushed important design decisions, including the shift to a first-person viewpoint and controls suited to a gamepad.

A common mix-up is confusing Jones with other major Bungie contributors. Jaime Griesemer was a lead designer, Alex Seropian co-founded Bungie, and Marcus Lehto was a prominent artist and later creative director. They were important to Halo’s creation, but Jason Jones is the credited director of the original game.