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Halo Infinite Launch Was Like A Runner Tripping And Falling At The Finish Line, Xbox Boss Says

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Idk bungie has been hiring like crazy, i could see a lot of the senior staff making their way over. It must be hell working on halo at this point.

I’d rather go work for the company with multiple big games in development that don’t have such a dark cloud looming over them
343 is a dark cloud.
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
Loop Reaction GIF
 

Robb

Gold Member
Yeah they really screwed up with the multiplayer. I can’t wait to hear stories from the development hell Infinite must have been in down the line.

The fact that they delayed the entire game for a year and still had to keep delaying content even up until today is just absolute madness. Makes you wonder what they’ve actually been doing for the 6 years of development..
 

Klosshufvud

Member
Surely the signs of a highly inefficient team has been there for years now? It's the job of Booty and others to act when a studio fails in its deadlines so repeatedly like 343i has. I sometimes get the feel both Nintendo and Sony are able to get more with less. Maybe because they impose stricter demands on their devs and act when a studio seems to fall behind on its goals. The hands off approach is great when you already have a great team with a clear leadership and vision. It may not be so when the studio is in disarray and in need of outside leadership.
 
Ummm idk man that's pretty refreshing that he's being honest even if it's obvious because usually all I hear is PR so I appreciate it, damn it we need more frank talk from suits when a game isn't living up to expectations but hopefully behind the scenes leadership like Booty is holding teams accountable
 
As far as I know Microsoft has nothing being released until well into next year. Why are they out there giving interviews and speeches right now? So far everything I've read from them lately all just seems to be self-depreciating navel-gazing.

They just need to shut up already and come back with something new and interesting to share. Beating all these dead horses seems like a self indulgent pity party, not a come to Jesus moment.
Hasnt this been their pattern since forever? These kinda interviews are saying to me tjat MS hasnt really learned much. They probavly prefaced that Halo interview by saying how "the campaign was great" which it wasnt but they somehow lucked out with overzealous reviewers. The entire Infinite package is a fucking disaster.
 

LordCBH

Member
Hasnt this been their pattern since forever? These kinda interviews are saying to me tjat MS hasnt really learned much. They probavly prefaced that Halo interview by saying how "the campaign was great" which it wasnt but they somehow lucked out with overzealous reviewers. The entire Infinite package is a fucking disaster.


Booty couldn’t even accurately state why Infinite failed. It wasn’t an issue of a lack of a post launch content stream, it was a lack of content in general, ESPECIALLY at launch. There’s no excuse for long time favorite modes missing from launch. No excuse for co-op missing from launch. No excuse for splitscreen co-op missing. No excuse for Forge being a year late. No excuse for the atrocious progression system, ESPECIALLY when MCC had a pretty good one they could have just duplicated for infinite.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Really good campaign felt organic, enemies that were memorable, i think they figured out the story.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
It's still one of the most-played games on Xbox consoles since it was released. Hasn't changed in all this time. 17th most played game worldwide on Xbox Series consoles. Not sure why mostly people who don't play it keep claiming the game is bad or dead.
Now that’s some spin. How the mighty have fallen. At one time this series was the top 1, and worst case top 3.

Pressure for better. It’s okay to, it’s not warring to do so. A better Halo is better for us all.
 

NikuNashi

Member
More like a runner who has eaten a diet of McDonald's and doughnuts for 5 years and shows up on race day looking like a sumo wrestler. Then after waiting a year to race due to being unfit, loses.
 

ZehDon

Member
Oh, Booty, I think we can all agree this particular runner tripped up long before the finish line was ever on the horizon.
 

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Scrap the 10 year plan and kill this game off.

Give Halo to another developer. Somebody like id or Arkane.

Let 343 work on something else.
 

gothmog

Gold Member
Yes don't bother releasing the patches that are already in the works to fix some of the fundamental issues with the game. Obviously firing everyone and abandoning the project is the quickest way of getting out new content and fixes.
It's been a year and they're just getting around to fixing some of the fundamental issues with the game. It's not unreasonable to ask for some accountability, and most people are not asking for anyone to be fired. It should be with a different team, though, if just for optics.
 

Batiman

Banned
Disappointing with the lack of content. But I enjoyed the hell out of the campaign and love the MP still besides lack of maps. Great game that should’ve been greater.
 

S0ULZB0URNE

Member
Yes don't bother releasing the patches that are already in the works to fix some of the fundamental issues with the game. Obviously firing everyone and abandoning the project is the quickest way of getting out new content and fixes.
Damage has been done and the road map is not enough to make more than handfuls come back.
 

CosmicComet

Member
As far as I know Microsoft has nothing being released until well into next year. Why are they out there giving interviews and speeches right now? So far everything I've read from them lately all just seems to be self-depreciating navel-gazing.

They just need to shut up already and come back with something new and interesting to share. Beating all these dead horses seems like a self indulgent pity party, not a come to Jesus moment.
It's self deprecating. Not depreciating.
 

Chiggs

Member
What took 6 years to make, exactly???? It's literally just minor tweaks to the same Halo formula that have existed for ages. Really unacceptable results from 343.

I wonder if we will ever know the final budget for the game. I remember a lot of Xbox supporters on this forum throwing a fit about the rumored 500 million dollar figure from that German website in 2019, which was later shot down by Frank O'Connor, who isn't what I would call an entirely trustworthy source.

But with all the outsourcing this game had, you'd imagine that the budget soared EASILY into the hundreds of millions.
 
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I wonder if we will ever know the final budget for the game. I remember a lot of Xbox supporters on this forum throwing a fit about the rumored 500 million dollar figure from that German website in 2019, which was later shot down by Frank O'Connor, who isn't what I would call an entirely trustworthy source.

But with all the outsourcing this game had, you'd imagine that the budget soared EASILY into the hundreds of millions.

You can do some pretty basic math and come up with $500M which is a pretty conservative figure.

6 years, nearly 500 developers
 
It's been a year and they're just getting around to fixing some of the fundamental issues with the game. It's not unreasonable to ask for some accountability, and most people are not asking for anyone to be fired. It should be with a different team, though, if just for optics.
Accountability like the leads being removed from the project? That has already happened. Let's see how the winter update is shall we?
 
Maybe, I'm in the minority, but I actually enjoyed the campaign quite a bit - and the multiplayer is decent too.

Yes, I know it launched missing features (which most AAA games do these days) and some felt it wasn't vintage Halo.

I was never a massive Halo fan, having been a PlayStation 1, 2, and 3 owner until a bit later in the Xbox 360 life cycle when I finally bought one and played Halo 3.

I liked it and more recently I dipped back into the MCC via Game Pass and I do see the appeal.

But, I was never a real hardcore fan so maybe that's why I was a little more forgiving with Infinite and took it at face value.

I played it on pc and I thought it looked ok, the guns felt great and there were lots of them, the enemies were varied and interesting, the vehicles were a nice addition, the grapple hook was fantastic and allowed for some genuine freedom with regards navigating the landscape.

As I said above, I also found the multiplayer fun and engaging - it needed a few extra maps and game modes, but I'm sure they've been added since I last got on.

Personally, I'd recommend it.
 
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NinjaBoiX

Member
I’m one of those people that doesn’t actually think Infinite is all that bad. I thoroughly enjoyed both the campaign and the multiplayer.

But Jesus, they really are trickling this content out aren’t they! Ray tracing update a year after launch? Come on guys…
 

Alan Wake

Member
Remember 2007 when Halo 3 launched with campaign, 4 player co-op, multiplayer, and forge, all on day one?
Those were the days. I've always played Halo for the campaign and Infinite had a good one, so I'm pleased. But it baffles me how they fumbled with everything else. I think it's time to give Halo to another studio by now.
 

FeralEcho

Member
Remember 2007 when Halo 3 launched with campaign, 4 player co-op, multiplayer, and forge, all on day one?
Yeah but back then we had something called competent developers who knew their shit and and were in the gaming business because of their passion for the craft not to make a buck or...ahem...to express their political opinions how many studios are nowadays....Nowadays we have a complete package from an AAA studio with no problems at launch only with a couple titles a year otherwise it's gaas,early access or wait till patch 3.1 to make it functional access.When gaming became so mainstream it became a "business".

EDIT:

Having said that,the campaign for Infinite was amazing for me,it's everything else that sucks...The "slow as sloth taking shit" approach to content release for a multiplayer that started off really good is a travesty on the part of 343,nevermind the co-op cancellation which is just embarassing for a big studio of a hallmark franchise.
 
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This is not how I remember it, the game was a failure. Even the first gemeplay reveal was a failure. Only youtubers shilling made it seem like it got to the finish line, but it failed way before.
 

THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
It's official. The Halo Infinite damage control from certain folks is dead.

Also, Halo fans looking at what 343i did to one of XBOX's most important franchises...

UglyLegitimateHapuku-size_restricted.gif

The article pretty clearly states there were some issues, but knowhere does it state the game was an abject failure on all fronts. They didn't kill the franchise at all, it's alive and ready for a new chapter.
 
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Maybe, I'm in the minority, but I actually enjoyed the campaign quite a bit - and the multiplayer is decent too.

Yes, I know it launched missing features (which most AAA games do these days) and some felt it wasn't vintage Halo.

I was never a massive Halo fan, having been a PlayStation 1, 2, and 3 owner until a bit later in the Xbox 360 life cycle when I finally bought one and played Halo 3.

I liked it and more recently I dipped back into the MCC via Game Pass and I do see the appeal.

But, I was never a real hardcore fan so maybe that's why I was a little more forgiving with Infinite and took it at face value.

I played it on pc and I thought it looked ok, the guns felt great and there were lots of them, the enemies were varied and interesting, the vehicles were a nice addition, the grapple hook was fantastic and allowed for some genuine freedom with regards navigating the landscape.

As I said above, I also found the multiplayer fun and engaging - it needed a few extra maps and game modes, but I'm sure they've been added since a last got on.

Personally, I'd recommend it.

Not at all.

People who play it see the flaws and complain about it.

Those who don't play it see that and blow it out of proportions.

So there is no one left to defend the game and a army of haters.

People don't realise we complain cause game is exceptional and I would like it to improve. Cause I wanna play more, even though i have put 60-70 hrs in it.
 

FireFly

Member
Damage has been done and the road map is not enough to make more than handfuls come back.
The most valuable thing Microsoft has is the support and goodwill of the core Halo community. Throwing that away by completely abandoning the project and essentially telling fans never to trust Microsoft or 343's word on Halo, doesn't help anyone. It's crazy for me that gamers on a gaming forum are advocating for games to be unfinished and promises to be unmet.

With that kind of thinking we would never have got a working version of MCC, and there would be no central hub for playing all the old Halo titles. The goodwill Microsoft has built up over the past few years is based on treating game communities with respect, not kicking them to the curb when the financial expectations for a title are not immediately met.
 

Roberts

Member
Not at all.

People who play it see the flaws and complain about it.

Those who don't play it see that and blow it out of proportions.

So there is no one left to defend the game and a army of haters.

People don't realise we complain cause game is exceptional and I would like it to improve. Cause I wanna play more, even though i have put 60-70 hrs in it.

Yeah, there is a difference between 1) Halo Infinite being a great game that hasn’t reached its full potential and is lacking in providing constant updates and 2) a complete failure because they are so slow with adding new stuff.

People who don’t play the game and have a MS hate-boner only see the latter.

It can get better and it should. I’m pretty sure the studio is fully aware of that and are working on it, now that they have made changes in management. If they never manage to turn things around then it sucks. At least, I got to play both SP and MP for 100 hours or so and enjoyed every minute.
 
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