The Absolute Chaos of Halo Infinite
big boss・29 minutes read
Halo Infinite faced challenges post-launch, including graphics concerns, game delays, and missing features like campaign co-op and mission replay. Despite efforts to improve the game with new content and updates, player numbers dwindled due to networking issues, leading to significant layoffs at 343 Industries and a transition to the Unreal engine, impacting the game's future.
Insights
- The development journey of Halo Infinite has been tumultuous, marked by delays, fan backlash, and ongoing issues post-launch, impacting the game's quality and player experience.
- Despite efforts to address concerns and introduce new content, including armor cores and game modes, persistent networking problems, declining player numbers, and layoffs at 343 Industries have hindered the game's success, leading to significant changes in leadership and a shift to Unreal Engine for future Halo projects.
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Recent questions
What issues did Halo Infinite face post-launch?
Poor lighting, lack of mission replay, missing campaign co-op.
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Summary
00:00
"Halo Infinite: From Development to Launch"
- December 2019 saw significant changes in the gaming industry, with three four three Industries making positive strides.
- The announcement of the next Halo game at E3 2018 generated excitement among fans.
- E3 2019 showcased promising elements of the upcoming Halo game, including classic features and a Next Generation slip space engine.
- E3 2020 revealed details like the game's multiplayer going free to play and being a live service for years.
- Initial gameplay footage of Halo Infinite raised concerns about graphics quality and animation issues.
- Following fan backlash, the game's release was delayed by a year, with additional Microsoft Dev studios rumored to assist.
- Joe Staton, Bungie's head writer, joined the team to address internal issues and improve the game's quality.
- By early 2021, 343 claimed Halo Infinite was content complete, with trailers at E3 2021 and a solid release date set for December 8th, 2021.
- Issues with the game's multiplayer arose post-launch, including misleading beta terminology and problematic monetization practices.
- The campaign, while praised for its gameplay and story, faced criticism for its open-world design and lack of variety in missions.
18:06
Issues plague game, player numbers decline
- Lighting in the game is poor, and there is no Mission replay feature, requiring a full game restart for replaying missions.
- Campaign co-op, a highly anticipated feature, is still missing, causing frustration among players.
- Various complaints from players include the absence of specific game modes in a single playlist, limiting player choice.
- 343 Industries cites UI limitations as the reason for the lack of diverse playlists, including the feasibility of a team deathmatch playlist.
- Despite initial issues, 343 Industries manages to introduce a Slayer playlist after resolving UI limitations and adjusting challenges in the season pass.
- Server issues plague the game, with Big Team Battle becoming unplayable due to crashes and desync problems across all games.
- Player numbers decline rapidly due to slow progression, lack of content, and server region limitations, impacting the overall gaming experience.
- Season 3 is delayed by three months, with promises of improvements to server desync issues and a roadmap for future updates.
- The release of new content, including armor cores, maps, game modes, and bug fixes, improves the game experience, but networking issues persist.
- Despite efforts to enhance the game, including the introduction of a custom games browser and Forge beta, player numbers continue to dwindle, leading to significant layoffs at 343 Industries.
35:26
Halo's Future Uncertain Amid Studio Changes
- In February 2021, Russia invaded a neighboring country, leading to controversial sanctions and the cessation of partnerships between Western firms and Russia. This resulted in Spirosoft losing work, but 343 focused on creating post-launch content for the game. However, instead of new content, many developers worked on Unreal Engine prototypes and pitched ideas for new Halo games. Subsequently, numerous developers were laid off under 343's new leadership, who decided to abandon the Slip Space engine after four years of development in favor of Unreal. Despite almost two years since Infinite's release, there has been no story DLC, leaving players on a significant cliffhanger. Season 3 introduced various issues like performance drops, increased desync, and a bug resetting in-game settings upon login. Although cross-core camos were added at $14 each, Infinite's player base dropped from 260K to 8K on Steam. Despite being the 18th most played game on Xbox, plans for a battle royale, new weapons, vehicles, AI firefight, and 30 new maps are in progress under the new leadership at 343. Fans hope for improvements, but with the transition to Unreal and a studio reshaping, Halo's return may take some time.
