 A reader is upset at the current state of Halo Infinite and suggests drastic measure for revitalising the franchise. I'd never played a first person shooter until I tried Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox. Halo 2 was the first online game I ever played, and I have such fond memories of Halo 3 on the Xbox 360, playing online with friends, that I think it might actually be my favourite game ever. Obviously, that was back in the Bungie days, when Halo was the biggest game around – bigger even than Call Of Duty – and things have been slowly but steadily getting worse ever since they left and 343 Industries took over. I've liked parts of most of the games since, and Halo Infinite's multiplayer seemed pretty good at first, but as is now well documented, it all feel apart pretty much straight away after launch; until we got to the ludicrous point where it's now a complete irrelevance on Steam – less popular than many indie games – and probably not much better on Xbox. This was supposed to be a full-on live service game, supported for many years to come, but within three months it was obvious it was already dead. You don't come back from that. They can't just shrug their shoulders and move on to Halo Infinite 2. Even changing everything, from the game to the developer isn't enough. First of all, they've got to admit that Halo as it exists now is dead and means a suitable period of mourning. If I was Phil Spencer, I'd lay down a rule saying no new Halo for at least 10 years. No spin-offs, no remakes, and certainly no sequels. Just let the shame of Halo Infinite be quietly forgotten and get people to the point where they actually miss the games. For me that's the most important step right there. If a new Halo comes out in a year or two it's just going to be more empty product churned out solely to keep the game's name alive, with no chance for people to anticipate it or the developer to spend the time necessary t){kind=link}
A reader is upset at the current state of Halo Infinite and suggests drastic measure for revitalising the franchise.
I’d never played a first person shooter until I tried Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox. Halo 2 was the first online game I ever played, and I have such fond memories of Halo 3 on the Xbox 360, playing online with friends, that I think it might actually be my favourite game ever. Obviously, that was back in the Bungie days, when Halo was the biggest game around – bigger even than Call Of Duty – and things have been slowly but steadily getting worse ever since they left and 343 Industries took over.
I’ve liked parts of most of the games since, and Halo Infinite’s multiplayer seemed pretty good at first, but as is now well documented, it all feel apart pretty much straight away after launch; until we got to the ludicrous point where it’s now a complete irrelevance on Steam – less popular than many indie games – and probably not much better on Xbox.
This was supposed to be a full-on live service game, supported for many years to come, but within three months it was obvious it was already dead. You don’t come back from that. They can’t just shrug their shoulders and move on to Halo Infinite 2. Even changing everything, from the game to the developer isn’t enough. First of all, they’ve got to admit that Halo as it exists now is dead and means a suitable period of mourning.
If I was Phil Spencer, I’d lay down a rule saying no new Halo for at least 10 years. No spin-offs, no remakes, and certainly no sequels. Just let the shame of Halo Infinite be quietly forgotten and get people to the point where they actually miss the games. For me that’s the most important step right there.