343 just announced the roadmap for Halo Infinite for the next two releases and its left fans frustrated and confused. Season 3 has been delayed and been replaced with the Winter update which packs a seasons worth of content in to a delayed update starting November 8th. Fans were in uproar over the cancellation of couch Co-Op mode, after assurances from head of the studio Bonnie Ross about the future of that mode being included in every release, post Halo 5.
My initial reaction to this update was why was this a surprise to anyone because it really shouldn’t have been. The history of the game and franchise in 343’s hands told us this was likely, especially given all we know about the problems 343 Industries have been having since Halo Infinite launched. But take a look back and we can see a litany of issues with each of their major releases. Halo 4 had a wildly unpopular multiplayer and changes to the art style and weapon sandbox. Halo 5’s campaign was derided for its poor story and deceptive marketing campaign, and the MCC launched in such awful state its a wonder the franchise recovered at all.
The delay and the state of Infinite when it was revealed and the subsequent lack of content since release all point to an organisation with some serious issues over an extended period of time. Fans have all got that familiar sinking feeling again but the signs were there for all to see.
We all knew that Infinite was “not very good” before the roadmap was released but hearing them announcing it just brought it in to focus for people. The cancellation of couch co-op plays in to all of the fears that lots of Halo players, who are already critical of 343 have. They fear that they don’t really “get” Halo or that they are taking an approach which is too driven by data instead of a more holistic, rounded approach.
For my part I think they have failed to realise that the people who want couch co-op really wanted it. Yes the numbers of players are small but for many its a key feature for playing with friends and family. And plenty of others see it as another piece of the Bungie era games being chipped away at or seen as disposable in an era of online play, microtransactions and corporate modern gaming. None of this is helped by the delay to network co-op and forge not releasing with the game. Again those are features which many see as core to the Halo experience now and an attack on one is now an attack on them all.
Also the way this feature was cancelled, when the feature is in a semi working state, speaks volumes about the mess the Halo Infinite project is in. If before Launch 343 had told us that couch co-op was cancelled because of some reason, like there not being enough players to support the development time, we have to concentrate our resources to make the best game possible, then yes there would have been outrage but doing so now, after development time has been spent, shows a studio in disarray. Its just another sign that the game wasn’t ready for launch and that 343 are still working through the backlog of issues. Project goals are clearly still being re-prioritised to the absolute essentials to get the live service, or seasonality, up and running
The update isn’t that bad……if we excuse the timings
In many ways I hope this update served as a wake up call and a sign of where this game is. Is it a good content drop? Yes. Just taken on its own if this was part of a regular content drop package that we saw every 3 to 4 months then this might be OK. And if it was going to be released over the next 6 months then sure. But that isn’t where Halo Infinite is right now and many fans were clearly hoping for more to turn it around. They were looking for some surprises on the roadmap, which to be fair they got, just not the ones they wanted. If the winter update had released this month, and season 3 had released in January or even February then the headlines would all be a little different. But again that just isnt where the team is right now. They are missing deadlines by months and its killing them online and in the press. So what are we getting
Two new maps – Ok this is the good bit. Ive said it before but this game needs maps. Add more maps and you freshen up all of the game modes where they are in rotation. No more “content” required. My only hope, and yes before anyone says it this is pure copium / hopium is that fan created forge maps get added in to the rotation.
Forge Beta – the one bright spark in all of this mess is forge. Assuming its even semi usable the fans will start pumping out maps and modes. As much as content creators and people posting on reddit and twitter are dunking on 343 right now watch the same people start hyping the game up once Forge comes out. Nothing wrong with, people get excited, but bear that in mind when you watch something overly negative. Just bear that in mind when you watch or read something in the coming weeks. Everyone’s opinion is “subject to change”
Season 3
What is surprising is that Season 3 doesnt appear to add much more content than the Winter update so what difference does it make what we call these things. The events, as they currently are are lacklustre and arent generating more interest in the game outside of those already playing it.
I think its right to delay the content of season 3 if its not yet ready but two things strike me about this.
- Will some or all of it be delayed. At this point we have no reason to think it wont be. 343 have got a track record and its not a good one.
- When it does release it needs to solve more problems than it creates. If there are major bugs, or it just isnt very good then the expect the fans to be outraged, the press to run amok and
No PR sense – why not call the update for Winter Season 3? Defeat from the jaws of victory
Now it sounds like there is some internal process regarding publishing seasonal content and that is why this is the winter update. As others have said why not simply rename the content from the Winter update as season 3, or even 2.5 if you feel its not big enough. One way they could have padded it out was to add 4 or 5 little events with free battle passes and rewards. I am sure these would have been called out as padding or not good enough but its better than nothing happening and might generate some positivity. The Yappening event this week has been a big hit on social media and this surely points the way forward.
When even Uber Nick is making even remotely critical videos you know you’ve got problems.
What should worry 343 is the way the fan reaction crossed over to Youtubers and journalists who dont ordinarily cover Halo news. It seems everyone was dunking on 343 last week which shows just how bad this has become.
These creators speak to players of other games which Halo will need to attract in the coming months and years to regain its own player base. At this stage, without multiple successful updates why would anyone play Halo if they aren’t already a big fan of the game?
Fire343
Since the roadmap fire343 has been trending, there has been a social media pile on and even mainstream content creators and game journalists have been getting in on the action. Its been a public relations disaster from top to bottom but 343 aren’t going anywhere.
For a few reasons.
- Someone has to run Halo. If not 343 then who? 343 is a vehicle for Microsoft to manage the Halo franchise. Scrap 343 and start again and the new organisation will still be a vehicle for Microsoft to manage the Halo franchise. Ok so just change the managers I hear you say.
- Replacing senior leaders might work but there will be contractual hurdles to over come, and PR hurdles if the fans are able to force Microsofts in to sacking people. Its a bad look all around. Firing one of the only female heads of a gaming studio after a mostly male fan base has decided that she is the problem is also a bad look and not something Microsoft executives will consider. If that were to happen the entire fanbase would be labelled as irredeemably toxic and things would ultimately be worse, hard as that is to believe. Also at this stage hanging one or two individuals out to dry when there is an entire system at fault isn’t the way forward. They may have had a hand in creating that system, but that doesn’t change that we are where we are. Sadly they got us in to this mess and they are going to have to get us out of it
- Hiring developers is hard enough. Its a brave soul who enters a new organisation, with a bad or contentious reputation, to work on what many may see as an impossible task. That is pleasing Halo fans. Thats not to say this is valid fear but this job comes with 20 years of stored up history and expectations. Its a brave sole who takes on the challenge.
- Halo has done well for Microsoft financially. Halo 5 was a massive release and Halo Infinite saw massive player numbers and will have sold plenty in the shop. Surely 343 leaders will point to this when they are judged on their performance internally. Yes its had its problems but its consistently made money for Microsoft. They just sold the TV show to Paramount who seem keen to take the franchise forward so the financials must be solid there too. Doesn’t mean we all think the show is good but its clearly good enough to continue for Paramount.
Toxic Fans
Ive been pretty vocal on twitter about my feelings on the senior leadership team at 343. And whilst I stand by this sentiment I’m not sure sharing my views on the matter in public does much for the fandom or getting the game and the franchise to a place I want it to be in. I’m not saying we should ignore failings but we need to do so in a way that isn’t seen as, or actually is toxic. We as fans need to find a way to be vocal and constructive. We need to succeed regardless of the problems at 343.
Forge and the MOD tools being released for the MCC is a chance to do that. The creativity on display in recent months should create a virtuous circle which sees new content for the fans whilst the devs get to work on fixing the many problems we face. Frankly I feel like we could all do with a break from talking about 343 and their problems.
If you don’t want to support the game then don’t buy the battle pass, or uninstall the game completely until you feel its not worthy of your time. That is absolutely your right. If you cant do that because you enjoy the game or even feel a sense of ownership over the franchise then that is your right and I respect the deep feeling that many players have for these games. Without the core fans the game and franchise would be nothing!
Can the Halo community be toxic. Of course it can. Is it irredeemably toxic? No it isn’t. Does it have legitimate concerns? Of course it does. I would say that the biggest problem that 343 faces with its community is the trust has gone. We have heard the same issue crop up time after time after time and release after release and like any relationship where the trust has disappeared its a long road back. Actions speak louder than words and we can only judge what we see and experience and we continue to see the same problems. Fans are paying customers. They have the right to voice their frustrations. Respectfully of course
Modern games are hard
Actman recently stirred up a storm on twitter when he asked why modern games feel like we get less than we did with older games. The debate was fierce and there was some backlash from developers who clearly feel like gamers dont understand the challenges they face.
This isn’t a new problem. Every generation of games brings its own set of problems. The developers of Halo 3 were vocal about the problems they encountered during the creation of that game because of the increased power of the, at the time, latest Xbox.
How does this relate to 343 and Halo Infinite? Well……
Games have never been more complicated to make and if organisations aren’t operating effectively, or as effectively as they could be, if they aren’t organised, with a clear creative vision, effective leadership, good project management, good marketing, and building on a solid foundation of good technology then problems which pop up, such as working from home during a global pandemic or an over reliance on contract workers will expose these issues. This is what we have seen from Halo Infinite. It feels like ideal working conditions were required to get anything out of this game and the technology its built on and the last 2 years have been less than ideal. 343 was a house of cards, built on sand, ready to crumble at the frist sign of trouble!
These problems aren’t unique to Halo
Battlefield 2042 is a similar game with similar problems. Loads of bugs, cheating, desync, not enough content, balancing issues….the list goes on. It feels like the pandemic and pressure from the publishers has led to games being release before they are truly ready.
Apex legends players have a laundry list of gripes that should look familiar to Halo players. Now I appreciate that Apex isn’t in the same spot as Halo.
It doesn’t have the history, and bagage that goes along with that buts its clear there are themes with all of these games, even the successful ones.
I don’t say any of this to excuse 343 but to give context to the challenge they face. They have given themselves a load of problems and the challenge of making modern games with all that entails, including pleasing existing fans, bringing in new ones and facing down stiff competition all of which is shining a light on the inadequacies of 343 as an organisation.
How did we get here?
What really worries me is that we are even here at all! What quality control let this happen to not only the MCC but also Halo Infinite. When Phil Spencer and others at Microsoft heard they wanted to run a live service with Halo why wasn’t his first question can you do that? Do you have the resources? Do you have the content? Do you have the internal processes to ensure new content is available to publish on a regular enough basis to get players to pay money for this service. Even internally surely they must have known how this was going to go. I appreciate there are marketing reasons to not delay the game further and the release of the new console put strain on the team to meet the deadline but surely they knew what state they were in before release day? It feels like they put the game out and were hoping for the best.
At this stage other content creators would list all the ways they think Halo can be saved and what needs to happen to do so. But we all know what needs to happen and now we are on a countdown to judegment day. The release of Season 3 is surely now the true release of this game. It will be largely feature complete and will have a number of new maps and modes and fan created content will be flowing. If its still broken or has significant problems at this point then all hope is lost. (if it isnt already) But how many will be willing to wait around until March of next year to find out if 343 can pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Twice the bits 
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