When early reviews forHalo Infinitestarted coming in, it was clear that the world of Zeta Halo designed by 343 Industries was very much alive, with gorgeous environments and a general aesthetic that is more reminiscent of the original trilogy thanHalo 5: Guardians. WithHalo Infinite, 343 Industries had the opportunity to start afresh and make aHalogame that built its foundations on the feedback provided by players over time, but also something new that the franchise had never truly seen. While many felt that the gameplay in the latestHaloentry was and still is fun, the general consensus is thatHalo Infinitelacked something.
Fans believed that what was truly missing was the ability to play the game in couch co-op with split-screen fully supported, among other things, but this is something that 343 Industries delayed for a long time up until an approximative launch date was scheduled for August 2022. And yet, now that theHalo Infiniteroadmapis out, the dream of split-screen co-op has faded due to it being axed entirely, much to dismay of gamers. Not only that, but Season 3 forHalo Infinitewas supposed to come out shortly, when instead it’s now being delayed to March 2023, making it seem like the company’s alleged 10-year plan is not coming to fruition.
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Why Halo Infinite’s 10-Year Plan Seems Now Unlikely
The new roadmap forHalo Infiniteis stirring controversieswithin the fanbase due to Season 3 being delayed by four months, which also means that Season 2 will have lasted a total of 10 months when it ends. This is not the idea of a live service game that 343 Industries suggested players could expect at one point during development, and it’s quite far from being enough content for a game to sustain on for a year, let alone ten.
WhileForge modeis coming in November, all the other new content is still coming with Season 3, which is now releasing in March. This includes two new maps, which are both made in Forge mode, and while they are a step in the right direction, some believe that it’s too little, too late. The roadmap as is feels quite shallow, and Forge mode can only do so much to help keep the game afloat when other competitors, such asDestiny 2, dish out content on a regular basis. Not only that, but Forge mode also poses questions regarding the identity ofHalo Infiniteas a whole.
Even though it will allow players to go wild and create the maps they want, this approach is ahybrid of sorts betweenFortniteandMinecraft, with neither of them being the model that 343 Industries set up for itself almost one year afterHalo Infinite’s release. Between Forge mode coming way too late for the game to sustain itself, split-screen being canceled after too many promises, Season 3 being delayed, and important features like in-game reporting being released next year, players are not happy about the current state of the game.
Some are calling this the end of the franchise or, at the very least, ofHalo Infinite, but there is a chance the game can recover with time. The real issue is that trust is not so easy to regain, and that’s why making so many promises about the game turned out to be double-edged sword. Nine months into its life,Halo Infinite’s 10-year planseems more like a pipe dream than a concrete project. “Infinite” is a great concept for aHalogame, but it should be more than a concept almost one year after its release.
Halo Infiniteis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
