Halo: Infinite (Dec. 8th, 2021) - Xbox Series X

[JaegerDice]

If they were going to prioritize features, I would personally go:

1) Campaign Co-op --- It's a Halo staple, and it's honestly the primary reason some of my friends haven't bought the game. Their entire experience with Halo since the original CE was playing through the campaign with friends. They don't care about MP. I'm not sure how representative that is, but I doubt they're alone.

2) Forge Mode --- I said this earlier, but I feel like 343 and Microsoft should have moved heaven and earth to have forge mode and some kind of LFG matchmaking for custom maps/modes ready to go at launch. The BIGGEST problem with Halo Infinite MP for me, as somebody that really doesn't care much about unlocking cosmetics or whatever, is the lack of maps and the sameness of the Arena maps. Had players had the option to make all sorts of cool and crazy creations and gamemodes, and had a matchmaking option to jump into those weird games and maps in addition to saving and sharing them... the feeling of sameness would have been held off far longer.

3) Battle Royal --- I don't really love this mode of game, but it is the hottest thing in the genre right now, so they should get it done.

4) DLC story shit. Honestly, I'm at the point where I don't want to see a new Halo campaign for another console generation. The next boxed Halo game can come out with the Xbox Series Z or whatever as far as I'm concerned. They have a great engine, they have a decent set-up, just make Halo Infinite 2 (or whatever the shipping title is) a downloadable expansion for like 20-30 bucks, in the same way Destiny delivers packs like Forsaken or Witch Queen. Use the assets you have, cut down on the production time and budget, give people a reason to keep coming back to the Halo they have and stop looking for the quickest route to the next big release.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

I had heard Season 4 for BR but haven’t been keeping up.

 

[x Tame Impala]

The way 343 slow drips content you’d think they’re an Indie studio with a dozen developers. I didn’t buy the Season 2 BP and am feeling great about it. Gotta let then know with our wallets if we don’t want this status quo to stick around.

Why are these staples so hard to develop in 2022? I’m amazed at how terrible they’ve been with this.

 

[S E P H]

If they were going to prioritize features, I would personally go:

1) Campaign Co-op --- It's a Halo staple, and it's honestly the primary reason some of my friends haven't bought the game. Their entire experience with Halo since the original CE was playing through the campaign with friends. They don't care about MP. I'm not sure how representative that is, but I doubt they're alone.

2) Forge Mode --- I said this earlier, but I feel like 343 and Microsoft should have moved heaven and earth to have forge mode and some kind of LFG matchmaking for custom maps/modes ready to go at launch. The BIGGEST problem with Halo Infinite MP for me, as somebody that really doesn't care much about unlocking cosmetics or whatever, is the lack of maps and the sameness of the Arena maps. Had players had the option to make all sorts of cool and crazy creations and gamemodes, and had a matchmaking option to jump into those weird games and maps in addition to saving and sharing them... the feeling of sameness would have been held off far longer.

3) Battle Royal --- I don't really love this mode of game, but it is the hottest thing in the genre right now, so they should get it done.

4) DLC story shit. Honestly, I'm at the point where I don't want to see a new Halo campaign for another console generation. The next boxed Halo game can come out with the Xbox Series Z or whatever as far as I'm concerned. They have a great engine, they have a decent set-up, just make Halo Infinite 2 (or whatever the shipping title is) a downloadable expansion for like 20-30 bucks, in the same way Destiny delivers packs like Forsaken or Witch Queen. Use the assets you have, cut down on the production time and budget, give people a reason to keep coming back to the Halo they have and stop looking for the quickest route to the next big release.

The problem for me isn't the lack of content even if the game should've came out this Q4, but delaying stuff that was already delayed in the beginning lol. COOP was supposed to be in May if I remember correctly, but delayed again until August. I played the MP recently and it was still quite fun, I just dislike certain aspects of it like no BR starts for BTB (comes across as Pejorative Slured).

I am surprised if campaign really is 2025, that just seems really long for an expansion pack.

 

[Beau Knows]

Update

• Season three delayed until March 2023
• Split-screen co-op has been COMPLETELY cancelled
• Campaign co-op & replay delayed until November
• Forge delayed until November

What is going on over there at 343?

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Super disappointing. All the leaked Forge videos look incredible but we have to wait even longer now. Shame, the gameplay is so good. Been playing a good bit recently with friends and its so smooth, but being drip fed content is rough.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Just bury it and the studio and be done with it.

Or let MW2 do it since it looks like it's going to launch as a full experience instead of this turd.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Two 4v4 maps per year?

Yeah I'm done lol

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Just bury it and the studio and be done with it.

Or let MW2 do it since it looks like it's going to launch as a full experience instead of this turd.

Hopefully, but we shall see after how Vanguard launched. The Escape from Tarkov mode in MW2 is allegedly not dropping until 2023.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Hopefully, but we shall see after how Vanguard launched. The Escape from Tarkov mode in MW2 is allegedly not dropping until 2023.

True, but Infinity Ward is the one of the COD studios that doesn't seem to release absolute garbage at launch. MW1 launched pretty well and i expect MW2 will be polished since they've had 3 years to work on it and actually understand how to use their engine.

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Big yikes

 

[Jovavic]

No coop split screen isn't surprising, Halo 5 didn't have it and I'm sure they were told if they can't make a big mode like that work on One then don't bother with it

 

[Blitzkrug]

Good f***ing riddance. I hope everything's okay with her family but at the same time she needed to go and needs to stay gone

New head of 343, and by extension the Halo franchise is Pierre Hintze. Hintze is largely believed to be the guy responsible for saving the Master Chief Collection and turning it into a bright spot for Halo as a whole.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Decided to check in the game with forge and stuff launching tomorrow. I have just discovered the glory that is Kong Slayer.

What a hilariously dumb mode (in a good way!)

 

[MAHJ71]

Logged in to see some of the new stuff. Played a few games. It was OK.

Not sure I believe its enough to bring this game back from the dead.. new pass seems very meh, some games taking 30-60 seconds to start while searching for players.. 2 new maps isn't enough. Forge looks cool, but personally that's not a feature I've ever really cared about.

 

[JaegerDice]

Im loving playing new Forge maps with friends.

Im hoping to jump in and try my hand at making a DM17 map (from Quake 3)


Also, they turned the Commando rifle into an absolute monster. I cant imagine its going to stay this way for long.

 

[S E P H]

It seems this game is going to die

Microsoft Slashes 10K Jobs, Including At Xbox And Halo Studios

Kotaku has learned that developers at 343 Industries and The Coalition have been impacted

kotaku.com

- Staten leaving 343 to rejoin MS
- Jobs cut at 343
- Rumours that there won't be enough people to continue Halo games, so it will become a publisher.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Good. 343 had three (four if you count MCC) chances and they botched them all.

Lots of fingers being pointed at 343, others being pointed on Microsoft for blame. The answer is both. Microsoft dicked around for too long letting 343 letting them run their only golden IP into the ground and 343 deserves blame for having no concise leadership and vision while also having zero understanding of what made the Bungie games so beloved both in the context of single and multiplayer.

Hell infinite is still missing basic features like mission replay and has significant issues on the net code side of things.

Ice the series until you can figure out a new path for it. Hot take would be to let Infinity Ward take a crack at it once they finish the Activision deal.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

ID Software is another team they could put on it.

 

[93LEAFS]

ID Software is another team they could put on it.

I'd be disappointed if they used iD to fix it, since I'd personally prefer they either work on the next Doom or a Quake reboot. But, going forward it would make sense to scrap whatever their engine is, and use iD tech going forward. Plus, I'm not sure iD is staffed to the level to both continue working on a game, while maintaining the iD engine, and working on a live service game that demands constant update.I'd be more worried about the MS cuts when it comes to rumors they also made cuts at Bethesda Game Works, which sounds like insanity to cut bodies in the run up to Starfield.

 

[93LEAFS]

Good. 343 had three (four if you count MCC) chances and they botched them all.

Lots of fingers being pointed at 343, others being pointed on Microsoft for blame. The answer is both. Microsoft dicked around for too long letting 343 letting them run their only golden IP into the ground and 343 deserves blame for having no concise leadership and vision while also having zero understanding of what made the Bungie games so beloved both in the context of single and multiplayer.

Hell infinite is still missing basic features like mission replay and has significant issues on the net code side of things.

Ice the series until you can figure out a new path for it. Hot take would be to let Infinity Ward take a crack at it once they finish the Activision deal.

A lot of the issues themselves can be tied to Microsoft's policies to begin with. To avoid getting into another "permatemp" situation they rely a ton on contract work on employees they only retain for 18 months and constantly cycle temps. That alone would cause issues with a team using an industry-standard like Unreal, but if using your own proprietary engine while doing it means you are constantly wasting time teaching new "temps" how to use the game engine, and then constantly repeating that cycle.

 

[S E P H]

Good. 343 had three (four if you count MCC) chances and they botched them all.

Lots of fingers being pointed at 343, others being pointed on Microsoft for blame. The answer is both. Microsoft dicked around for too long letting 343 letting them run their only golden IP into the ground and 343 deserves blame for having no concise leadership and vision while also having zero understanding of what made the Bungie games so beloved both in the context of single and multiplayer.

Hell infinite is still missing basic features like mission replay and has significant issues on the net code side of things.

Ice the series until you can figure out a new path for it. Hot take would be to let Infinity Ward take a crack at it once they finish the Activision deal.

Poor leadership is definitely what happened to 343 even though I wouldn't say every game they made was bad, just bad execution like we saw with MCC. MCC is a bloody awesome game but was too adventurous for its release date. I am all for minority hires, but not in the case of that being the entire reason, Bonnie Ross was a horrible hire from MS just because she was of a female gender similar to LucasArt putting KK in charge of all things Star Wars. Then Ross campaigned the entire time to hire more females in the gaming industry, which is a noble effort, but one which shows the entire issue at hand. It goes down to quality over quantity, I wouldn't care if 99% of the physician world was made up of women if they were the ones leading to better medical healthcare over anybody else. I wouldn't care if the entire teacher union was filled with 99% Asian men if that meant better education for the youth (just random examples). But purposely hiring an individual based on race or gender because that field doesn't have enough is what leads to awfulness within that particular field since the best most qualified person doesn't always get the jobs. Staten should've been in charge of 343 from the very start.

 

[Beau Knows]

Halo Infinite was supposed to be "a platform for 10 years of Halo content". 2 years later and the game is largely unchanged and the studio is being crippled.

 

[Dolemite]

Halo Infinite was supposed to be "a platform for 10 years of Halo content". 2 years later and the game is largely unchanged and the studio is being crippled.

The game was pushed out the door WAY too early. They dug their own graves.

 

[chicagoskycam]

Halo Infinite was supposed to be "a platform for 10 years of Halo content". 2 years later and the game is largely unchanged and the studio is being crippled.

It really has not been two years, right? The gameplay was great but then, they did absolutely nothing with it.