You're reaching. They just told you with a gigantic ass 343 Industries logo to start it out that 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great. From the brand new studio head. Now you tell me exactly what is 343 Industries most known for doing as it pertains to Halo? Playing an instrumental role in the development of big mainline Halo titles. The other thing they do is playing an important role in supporting other studios in the creation of other games outside of the main Halo series and expanding the Halo universe through other forms of media.
Instrumental role != lead role. If they're still on for future projects as a co-developer and acting as lore consultants but otherwise providing support, that still supports the idea of a downscale of sorts having occurred. The fact the single-player team has more or less been vacated, means they either re-hire for internal positions there or work with outside studios.
Considering other MS teams are in co-development statuses with outside teams, it's not a reach to see that could very well be happening with 343i. Who in that dynamic you consider the lead or the support might be down to your interpretation but I think the studio that has had a scattershot (at best) go at the storylines for Halo games since they took over the IP, should maybe act as support for an outside team better equipped to carry that side of things.
Why the hell would they need to say Halo Infinite???? Had they said Halo Infinite you would literally be saying the exact opposite "Why did they say 'Halo Infinite', this tells you they clearly won't be working on another big and important new Halo universe games again."
Lol no. But c'mon, we KNOW those rumors were in pertains to Halo Infinite. That Halo Infinite is basically "done", outside of MP content. Meaning most likely the 10-year grand vision plan is over. That there would be a shift to new Halo games (potentially smaller ones) to help explore ideas with the IP in terms of story and gameplay, and maybe we see a sequel to Infinite much sooner than 2031.
Because the way I read into everything regarding Infinite, MS's plans were to have it serve as the singular mainline Halo game for this generation. That's how I saw it, anyway. I also saw it as perhaps meaning there would be story DLC expansions; I mean if Gears can get them, why can't Halo? That would only make sense for a game that wants to sustain for a decade after release, especially since Halo isn't JUST about the multiplayer.
Only here would people believe Microsoft is maintaining a massive ass development studio of over 500+ people (yes it's still that big if previous estimates of 750+ were to be believed) but they won't actually be developing any games. Even assuming it's only 300+, that's still a team that will continue having a role in building future Halo games including campaigns and multiplayer, according to the brand new Studio Head of 343I.
Which is exactly what I've been saying: they'll still be involved in future Halo games. But IMO, more as a support and consultation studio, for content generation, and primarily for multiplayer at least where Halo Infinite is concerned. For other Halo games, they'll be there to assist development and ensure lore accuracy.
That's been the whole point of my personal thought on it all: MS are giving Halo the Star Wars treatment. Collectives of smaller projects to expand the lore, explore new ideas, give some breathing room for mainline AAA games and potentially provide material to help with a soft reboot between Halo Infinite and the next big Halo game. 343i acting as technical & development support, and consultation.
Only difference between Halo and modern Star Wars being, since Halo Infinite is a live-service game, they (343i) will still be providing MP content for it. I was never on the "Halo is being sunsetted/343i are shutting down" train.
Thanks, but I can read English just fine
Also...dude. You are
definitely overreacting. No one wants Halo to die. Truth is, it's been dying for several years and the only way to fix that is with some real change.
All those GOTY awards, record player counts etc. don't mean anything when we can see the dwindling software sales, player counts, mindshare and goodwill of the franchise among even its most dedicated fans because of various mistakes.
Let some new blood take a stab at it. 343i can still be involved
