Halo Infinite launched on November 15, 2021, and to today… I nonetheless don’t know what the plan for the sport is.
When Microsoft introduced the sport, it declared it was the platform for the way forward for the franchise. The expectation was that Halo Infinite was going to be up to date frequently with new content material and that the event workforce was going to proceed the story by new expansions – there could be no Halo Infinite 2. Heck, in my very own interview with Halo Infinite composer Gareth Coker final yr, he talked about that extra story content material was within the works.
Since launch, we’ve had only a handful of latest multiplayer maps added, and some months in the past, Forge and co-op lastly launched after a number of delays. Whereas these helped breathe a bit of latest life into the sport, developer 343 Industries and Xbox have nonetheless not made clear what the plan is for Halo Infinite going ahead. Quick-forward to at this time, and the studio has been hit with important layoffs, notably of workers engaged on single-player content material, and Joseph Staten, who was particularly introduced in to take the reins of the sport and get it fastened up, has now left the studio and returned to his earlier position on the Xbox Publishing workforce.
That is each an issue for 343 and us as gamers, because the business has develop into so hyper-focused on the games-as-a-service mannequin that I really feel like I’m consistently ready for a recreation which may by no means really exist.
As an enormous fan of Halo, and somebody with a deeper data of how studios function, I’ve been affected person in ready for Xbox and 343 to clue us in to the long run for the sport. However time and time once more, their roadmaps have lacked readability, and the studio has refused to handle what the long-term plan is for the sport exterior of extra battle passes, just a few maps, and updates to Forge. Sadly for 343, the studio simply doesn’t have the goodwill of a fanbase that trusts it to fulfill their expectations, and it actually feels just like the studio naively thinks it does have that assist.
With out sounding like an entitled fan of the sequence, I believe 343 and Xbox are overdue for a proof of what the plan is for his or her greatest and most vital franchise. It feels directionless for the time being, and belief in 343 as a studio is at an all-time low. The sport wasn’t even talked about of their large Xbox showcase final June, and it appears prefer it gained’t be getting any point out once more in the course of the showcase occurring subsequent week on January 25. It’s a bit stunning actually that Xbox is just not addressing what the long-term targets are for Halo Infinite… if any stay at this level.
Are story expansions coming? Is Infinite simply getting the naked minimal of assist whereas they re-reboot the sequence? What’s the way forward for 343 as a studio contemplating at this time’s layoffs and Staten leaving? Is Halo as a franchise happening ice?
There’s loads of inquiries to reply about 343 and Halo that simply aren’t being addressed. Xbox is aware of it has work to do on speaking about its initiatives and studios, contemplating the insecurity within the writer nonetheless stays comparatively excessive.
The best way Halo as a franchise is constant to be dealt with isn’t serving to, and I’m hoping we get some actual readability quickly, even when it’s information that Halo Infinite isn’t precisely infinite.
