On August 26, 2008, it was revealed that Payton had left Kojima Productions. He planned on finding a job closer to his family. Of his time at Kojima Productions, he said, "I'm pretty satisifed with all I've accomplished at KP. I set my goals and hit almost every one. The dream has always been to get an original game concept green lit, but that'll have to wait until I find a new home. The good news is that I've got plenty of exciting ideas that I've been keeping close to my chest." He served as the creative director for Halo 4. In September 2011, Payton left 343 Industries and Microsoft to found a new studio, Camouflaj.