343 has launched a terse assertion reinforcing the notion that it’s nonetheless making Halo for Microsoft, after mass layoffs hit the corporate as a part of a broader discount of 10,000 staff on the megacorp:
“Halo and Grasp Chief are right here to remain. 343 Industries will proceed to develop Halo now and sooner or later, together with epic tales, multiplayer, and extra of what makes Halo nice.”
The quick assertion was meant to quell rumors that 343 was being taken off Halo after these layoffs and common underperformance from Halo Infinite. And but it virtually raises extra questions than it solutions.
Within the case of “epic tales,” it’s all the time been unclear what Halo’s subsequent plans have been for Grasp Chief, exterior of a supply material-burning Paramount Plus sequence. There have been by no means any concrete plans laid out for future Infinite story content material starring Grasp Chief, nor any public details about a brand new mainline sport persevering with his story aside from obscure rumors about one thing referred to as Halo: The Countless, referring the brand new enemy teased on the finish of Infinite.
And on the multiplayer facet, whereas it was assumed 343 would proceed pumping out reside Halo seasons and forge updates, in truth the largest upcoming improvement for multiplayer Halo is that this thriller mission Sure Affinity is engaged on, some form of Halo spin on a battle royale in a F2P standalone sport. One thing that’s…not being made by 343, even when it’s utilizing Infinite tech.
I assume one query I might pose about this complete state of affairs is that if 343 is continuous to work on Halo for the indefinite future…why? They’ve been at it for a decade, and between Halo 4, 5 and Infinite have produced lots of deeply flawed entries, with Infinite maybe being essentially the most problematic of all with its 12 months lengthy delay that also didn’t produce a coherent reside sport. It’s wild that what needs to be Microsoft’s flagship shooter franchise has continuously been struggling to hold on inside the highest 20 of most performed Xbox video games at any given time.
Perhaps with a management change issues can flip round, however we nonetheless have subsequent to no thought what’s presupposed to be coming subsequent aside from obscure rumors, and the largest, concrete factor we suppose we all know, Sure Affinity’s BR sport, is just not even coming from 343 itself. It’s a wierd state of affairs and I’m unsure 343 holding onto the keys to Halo for an additional decade right here is the fitting transfer.
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Decide up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller sequence and The Earthborn Trilogy.