Halo Infinite is sadly going to be remembered for all the things that went wrong with its development and its launch than the quality it did bring to the franchise. Most would agree that it was better than the last two mainline entries in the series. However, those same people would remind you that the previous two mainline entries were so divisive that it was a low bar to clear. Just as important, the development cycle for the title not only took much longer than it should’ve but was released to the world in a bunch of broken pieces. Now, the head of Xbox Studios is acknowledging the faults of all involved.
What faults were there? Even before the game’s launch, the reception to the title was initially mixed based on the trailers. The team had to delay the game after they were roasted by fans for the graphics that didn’t look like they belonged on a next-gen system. If you remember “Craig,” he was part of the problem. Then, when the game launched, it did so in pieces, and not all of them were equal. The multiplayer was free to play, and that was something everyone enjoyed. However, the campaign mode needed to be purchased, and that was less beloved.
Then, there’s co-op and Forge Mode. The former was promised for a long time and then scrapped in part. As for Forge Mode, 343 Industries has had many issues with it. Add to that; there were matchmaking issues, the seasonal content was lacking, and so much more. In addition, the game was far from the “epic launches” that the original trilogy had. Xbox Studios head Matt Booty admitted as much in an interview where he said:
“The classic runner’s mistake of kind of tripping and stumbling as you come across the finish line.”
He also noted that you couldn’t just throw things out over time for something like Halo Infinite. Instead, you must “have a plan” for content and stick to it. Booty noted they fell pretty far from that plan.
That said, he did try and paint the game’s future as encouraging. We do know more about what’s coming than we did post-launch, so that’s encouraging. But even if they can pull this out, there are still those who will hold a grudge over the “broken” launch, and it’s not hard to blame them for doing that.
Source: Friends Per Second Podcast
