Halo Infinite released in November 2021 to huge amounts of anticipation, promising to recapture the classic feel of the franchise while implementing unique twists to its core gameplay to stamp out its own identity. Despite the huge amount of attention that the title received leading up to its release and upon its launch, the sharp decline in popularity that it quickly fell victim to is a clear indication of some serious problems with the release.
While aspects of Halo Infinite such as its campaign and core multiplayer gameplay were lauded by many fans, it remains that the game simply did not have the level of replayability and longevity that is needed of a live-service title. With many fans quickly losing interest and moving on to other releases, it can be said that Infinite serves as a lesson for Microsoft and 343 on how launch content should be handled for the franchise going forward.
Halo Infinite's Problematic Launch
Despite the predictable level of hype that surrounded Halo Infinite, the game was made even more popular and accessible around the time of its launch thanks to its presence as a day-one title for the massively successful Xbox Game Pass subscription service. This opened Halo Infinite to a huge audience of both old and new fans, which of course increased the expectations and level of scrutiny that the game subsequently faced.
Halo Infinite took a bold approach to its campaign which saw players once again take control of longtime Halo protagonist Master Chief, although this time within an open-world setting loaded with optional missions, high-value targets, and an ability upgrade system. With an emphasis on new mechanics such as map traversal via a grappling hook, the campaign of Infinite was well received despite perhaps lacking the bombastic set-pieces that more linear Halo games have historically provided.
It was the multiplayer of Halo Infinite that largely caused its negative reception. The title launched with an extremely limited roster of maps and game modes, very little progression or customization, and even without Halo's iconic Forge mode. Infinite took a live-service approach that involved seasonal battle passes and drip-fed content, yet the bare-bones nature of the title at launch was enough to turn many fans off of the game, doing potentially irreparable damage to the game's player base and overall reputation.
Launch Content For Halo Infinite's Successor
Microsoft hasn't announced anything about any potential successor to Halo Infinite, although the prestige of the franchise makes it more than likely that the IP will eventually receive another mainline title. Microsoft and 343 will likely be paying close attention to the pitfalls of Halo Infinite when developing this sequel, and the game's lack of content is the biggest mistake that should not be repeated.
Halo Infinite has released lots of post-launch content, but it has come at a time when the core playerbase of the game has already been watered down significantly. To remedy this, it is imperative that the next installment to the Halo franchise contains rich content for both its singleplayer and multiplayer modes from day one.
The multiplayer of any Halo game is crucial, and so it is necessary for there to be a good level of variety in terms of maps and progression, but also across things like party modes and more competitive ranked playlists. While it remains to be seen what the next Halo game will look like, Halo Infinite already serves as a stark reminder that any upcoming title absolutely must launch with enough content to keep players engaged during its crucial opening months.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.