Halo Infinite Multiplayer at One Point Was Similar to Overwatch

It sounds like Halo Infinite’s multiplayer component was nearly similar to Blizzard’s popular game Overwatch. In a lot of ways, 343 Industries and Xbox pitched Halo Infinite to fans as a return to Halo’s old-school style of multiplayer. And although the comparisons to Infinite and, say, Halo Reach aren’t identical, there is a lot a lot in common between the two. However, earlier on in the game’s development, it sounds like 343 almost took the project in a drastically different direction. 

In a recent message posted to Reddit, Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier responded to a claim that asserted Halo Infinite at one point was being developed as an “Overwatch clone.” Schreier confirmed that this rumor was true, at least to a degree. Rather than being exactly like Overwatch, though, it was said that Halo Infinite at one point contained a system that featured a hero system of some sort. Further details on what this looked like in practice weren’t given, but it’s clear that 343 was drawing inspiration from titles like Overwatch, Rainbow Six Siege, and others. 

“Yes, 343 spent a while prototyping a hero-based system,” Schreier said on Reddit. “I don’t remember exactly when they switched to the current version (and the tweet linked here seems exaggerated to the point where it’s mostly false) but I can confirm that they were working on various hero-based prototypes. In fact, I think there were both PVP and PVE prototypes built.”

As Schreier notes, though, these concepts for Halo Infinite’s multiplayer only ever reached the prototype stage, which means they didn’t get fleshed out very much before being thrown out. Still, it’s curious to think about what Halo Infinite could have been if 343 had opted to go in a drastically different direction with the Halo series. 

Would you have been interested in seeing what this “hero-based” version of Halo Infinite would have been? Or are you instead happy with how the game turned out? Let me know for yourself either down in the comments or reach out to me on Twitter at @MooreMan12.