Halo Infinite Scraps Fan Favorite Multiplayer Feature
Halo Infinite is scrapping a fan-favorite multiplayer feature. Halo Infinite has had a rocky timeline, even since before it launched. The game had a proper gameplay reveal in 2020, which was meant to showcase the power of the Xbox Series X but a lot of fans questioned the graphical fidelity of the new FPS. Just weeks later, the game was delayed a full year to December 2021, leaving Xbox Series X without a big killer app at launch. When the game released, it was very fun to play, but it was filled with all kinds of issues related to its live service aspects, missing key features like co-op, and more. It felt like Halo was not being set up to be the live service success that franchises like Call of Duty have been.
With that said, despite us being a year and a half removed from Halo Infinite's rocky launch, it is still suffering from some growing pains. With the arrival of season 4 of Halo Infinite, it was announced that 343 Industries was killing off the seasonal narrative cutscenes. A lot of these live service games have an overarching "story" that is told through cool, cinematic cutscenes at the start/end of each season. They're not exactly high brow stories, but they're still fun and entertaining. Halo Infinite will no longer have these moving forward as the team wants to focus its resources and direction on delivering on the things players are asking for and this was seen as something that could be sacrificed as a result.
"As we've refined our top priorities and shifted resources internally this year, we had to make the decision to forego seasonal narrative cutscenes to make room for the team to continue focusing on highly requested features, content, and improvements for Halo Infinite," said 343 Community Director Brian Jarrad. "These trade-offs are never easy to make, and we truly appreciate your support as the team works to make Halo Infinite the best experience possible. While the job is far from over, Season 4 marks another big step forward and we remain committed to this journey with the Halo community."
As of right now, it seems like fans probably shouldn't expect any more story content either in multiplayer or the campaign. It seems like Halo Infinite will moreso be focused on delivering new modes, maps, and quality of life updates for the future. It's unclear how long 343 plans to support this game for, but it will probably continue on for as long as people keep playing.
What do you think of the state of Halo Infinite? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.