Halo Infinite Dev Issues Lengthy, Passionate Response To Multiplayer Criticism

I mean, it is a situation where both parties are kinda within their rights to say what they are saying. For fans, this is the first new Halo experience since 6 years ago and they feel like they have already given a lot of those "a little more time"s and spent all their patience already.
And also for 343, they are struggling with a community that somehow wants all the pros and none of the cons in every decision 343 makes. Going F2P and cross-play certainly helps ensure a bigger and livelier community but fans are already deeply against a f2p game that needs to monetize and earn its money somehow.

A Team Slayer playlist would already be so valuable to me, that I don't really care about the rest.

Idk why anyone would feed the trolls at reddit, but it's cool that 343i cares.

Asking "what has 343i being doing for the last 6 years?" is still a valid question. Obviously they've had (being generous) two years of covid, but that still leaves 4 years of pure dev time.

I have for a while, 100%, believed they rebooted the development in 2018, and even if 343i don't "owe a dissertation" on what they have been doing, some open and honest dialogue (which was one of the promises going forward after Halo 5) about the behind the scenes issues might help the fans understand what's going on.

The other solution is, of course, to not release an unfinished game. Doom 2016, was started in 2007, rebooted in 2011, and then not reannounced until 2014, and released until 2016. The game was better for it.

But then again, the players get their game, the devs get their money, and they both get to moan at the other until they all forget and move on to the next product. The system works.

Y'know, this is the exact issue with the gaming community. Something is offered up free to play and still, a volume small or big, consisting of self entitled gamers, produce a deafening scale of complaints that though some might be valid, are more often than not, petulant and ignorant and arrogant and greedy. Books, films TV and games are all mediums in which creative minds have made for our enjoyment but at some point it's got to be recognised that your choice to play or purchase a particular medium doesn't immediately warrant control. it's a contract, right? You see what they're offering and decide whether you want. If they don't meet your expectations then don't agree to possess or play the thing they're offering.

it becomes this digital mob mentality which wouldn't ever have happened in the days of analogue. It's nice that we can comment and they listen but it should be illustrated strongly how they don't have to listen if they don't want to. I fear that when any developer tries to open the hand of communication many gamers will bite the fingers off in a ravenous foamy fit of self entitlement 🤔

You'll always find no shortage of things to complain about. If you ask the internet how you can improve you'll find no shortages of outraged players. I

Halo has been a main focus point for the ever changing bipolar opinions of critics and gamers and it's not out of passion, predominantly it's popular to leap from one wagon to the next, whichever harvests the most views. You got disingenuous gamers who review bomb and leave dirty comments here and there, you got self entitled fans who feel like they're owed met expectations and then you got gamers who enjoy a game for what it is. The internet has most certainly been a helpful platform for the first two.

And breath. 😂😂😂

Redditors always work themselves into a mess. Sure online games have tons of issues at launch but it isn't worth the emotional distress reddit echo chambers cause. As for progression, idgaf personally, I play to slay and anything extra is ok but I'd not expect a polished system built around a game at launch. It took years for games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite to get where they are.

Tbh I did complain about this week's ultimate challenge of winning 17 rounds, so just put a Tweet out & then swapped to DOOM Eternal for this weekend. I'll definitely be back for the next week's challenge & ket the frustration subside. Will probably delete that Tweet too after reading this. But overall, I love the game. If the challenges weren't a thing, I might enjoy it more but man do I love accomplishing goals!

Glad they are working on fixing some things, glad that the game is an absolute blast and i hope these folks have a great Christmas break and don't look at social media during their breaks. Best multiplayer I've played ever. Loved Titanfall 2 but this takes the cake for me. Enjoy your Sunday folks

This type of toxicity is why I stay away from multiplayer modes in most games. I can't fathom what these people would say if their game failed to load 3 times out of 4, like when I gamed on my C64. Today's gamers are a bunch of spoiled and entitled brats.

@BrilliantBill there are no pros about going f2p, only cons. At least for Game Pass subscribers. We are already paying for XGP and we would get Halo Infinite's MP 'freeish' anyway, hence the f2p model seems like just a poor excuse for filling the game with awful monetization.

@Magabro I don't know the free part seems pretty pro to me and also it means a bigger player base..then it's down to the individual if they want to put money into the game

@StylesT Halo always had a player base big enough to guarantee that we could find matches online even when it was sold at $60, so I really don't see how f2p is any beneficial to me or any Game Pass subscriber for that matter.

Forza Horizon 5 is not f2p and it was not unpopulated by any metric, on the contrary. Why would it be any different with Halo Infinite? I'm sure its campaign will still be in the list of Steam top sellers anyway, so I completely fail to see any advantage on going f2p.

I think a lot of it reeks of entitlement.

Is it fun to play? Yes, yes it is.
Is it the best Halo multiplayer since H3? Yes, yes it is.
Does the fast pace and sheer sense of fun make a refreshing change to po-faced shooters like CoD? Yes, yes it does.

What more do you want? Who cares about Battlepasses and progression? If I wanted that I'd play Destiny. How is it not enough for a game just to be fun to play just for the heck of playing it?

@Magabro Well the very obvious pro is being able to draw more people into the game since its launch and bringing it a bit closer to the good old days all the Youtubers claim it had back in 2007ish. When it was supposedly the king of the field. So in today's market with the sheer rivalry from so many other games. The only way to reach that level again was F2P. If you choose to not see that it is another point entirely.

@SplooshDmg Literally! Perfect example of it being TheActMan on YT which has been critizing everything about HALO non-stop and doesn't accept anything post-Bungie as good. Next thing he publishes a video almost crying why 343 didn't give him early-access to campaign.

This will all get ironed out with the passage of time. People need to f***ing chill

Last night I attempted to try some splitscreen local multiplayer only to find it hasn't yet been implemented into the game. To be frank, it feels like Halo Infinite has been rushed in a lot of ways, even with the extra time given since its original debut trailer. Not only is the 2-player campaign waiting until at least next May according to what I've read, but features like the Forge are likewise apparently still a long way off. Right now Halo Infinite simply feels like an incomplete game that's focusing way too much on a business model (F2P, Battle Passes, and customizable skins) rather than the core stuff that, you know, has always made a HALO title.

Thanks to online functionality we as consumers are being systematically "trained" to accept less for the same $$$ at the original point-of-sale, in terms of both quality and quantity. 343 is far from the only guilty party when it comes to spreading what used to be in the package you took home from the store out across months of post-launch updates, patches, and fixes for bugs and glitches that would have been eliminated by proper QC testing in the first place.

Whew I tell ya people really don't know how good they got it these days! Back in my day with multiplayer shooters sure character customization was in the game already but you know what wasn't? All the maps. Map packs were pretty expensive especially considering you would only be able to play with people who also had said map packs. It was pretty disheartening to spend $10-$15 on a map pack just to realize now you have to choose to play between the haves and the have-nots.

But with Halo's current business model, that's no longer an issue. New maps will just be added naturally free of charge so everyone can play on them. And since it's free to play that's perfect for someone like myself who used to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold every now and then only when I planned on playing something online for a while. I plan to come back to Halo much more often for multiplayer now since I no longer need to deal with that.

As for the "What have 343 done for 6 years!?" question the answer is pretty simple. Building a brand new game for multiple console/PC configurations with a new approach to the campaign from previous Halo games along with equipment that probably required new physics which required a brand new engine to be developed in tandem.That takes time folks and I'm sure there are many other reasons for a game of this scope to take so long to come out.

And then really? The Playlist situation is THAT big a deal to folks? 343 has already said improvements like the precious Slayer Playlist are on the way just be patient.

I give devs so much credit it takes a special kind of crazy to want to go into this business. I originally wanted to be a game developer growing up until I tried actually building a level, not even a full game from scratch. I realized pretty quick I'd have been miserable for the rest of my life if I went into that field and quickly shifted gears! 😂

Don't let them get to you 343 you have done a great job so far. Highly looking forward to the campaign this week.

If you are a passionate fan of the series you will be more than happy to allow some time to iron out issues once you have expressed them

Quite a few of the comments here are funny.

I'm confused on the whole "blaming reddit" thing. You do realize reddit is full of people with varied opinions just as well as anywhere else.

The reason 343 is issuing these apologies and talking about fixing things is because they understand they messed up due to the response the game has received from ALL areas. Xbox, forums, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, reviews/comments, etc.

343 would not be apologizing like this if they didn't realize there was an overall problem with the game for the general audience the game is aimed toward. Reddit is just an easy place to pull posts and complaints from.

Between them legitimately thinking the game was in a good state to be released last year, thinking the scripted gameplay that showed at E3 last year was "good enough" to this botched "beta release" that is missing 90% of game with a priority on adding 1000% more microtransactions, it is pretty obvious that they're facing legitimate complaints.

What people are experiencing here is "muh favorite game is being talked bad about oh no" and getting worked up. Why though? What do you gain from blinding supporting something that was trying to be pushed out the door ASAP for them sweet, sweet, microtransactions.

It's going to take time but I'm sure they will get there, I know they'll definitely listen to feedback and stick with it at least as what they did with MCC eventually made it a great game and collection.

I love Halo Infinite multiplayer. That is all.

@InterceptorAlpha dam. You're so wrong it hurts

I think the problem is this is a mainline Halo multiplayer game going F2P. A complete departure for long term fans and a completely different method of actually trying to make a profit.

I don't personally mind, as customization for skins is not something I'm interested in and a larger player base is more than welcome.
What I do find ruins the game though is the stupid challenges that force people to not play the objective of the game, which ruins it for people like me just playing for competitive fun.

So yes, the Battle Pass and challenges need serious work and we do need a wider selection of playlists.
What people do need to realize is this is an evolving game that hasn't officially even launched yet, so considering how good the actual gameplay is, I will give them the benefit of the doubt, especially when you look at the state the competition has launched in this year.

@FriendlyOctopus Please provide a counter argument then. I'll wait. 😊

@InterceptorAlpha "muh favorite game is being talked bad about oh no"

Assumptions by default is pure speculation by either bias opinions or bias observations which means you're argument is, well, wrong. 🤗

@InterceptorAlpha
12InterceptorAlphaFri, 5:54am
I'm expecting a pretty sold 70-80. Though I'm expecting the typical paid off reviewers, IGN, GameSpot, Kotaku, Polygon, etc, to give it higher scores.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

You're just here to sour things aren't you? You hate that people like Halo...weird

It's free and still better then call of Duty Vanguard. Like A million times better.

@AtlanteanMan wait what this game doesn't even have local splitscreen yet? Damn dude you saved me from some embarrassment, I've been trying to invite my friends over to play it. The scenes when I would've just discovered it at that point.

Still not said anything about crossplay ?

@FriendlyOctopus What you highlighted was a throw away ad hominem generalization of the people that have issues against valid concerns. This in no way invalidates my aforementioned points.

A 70-80 is a good score. I'm not sure the issue here. I'm not expecting GOTY material from 343, because, well, their prior Halo history and the state of Infinite's multiplayer.

Halo is at a toss up for one of my favorite franchises. Even enjoyed Halo Wars despite how terribly it was handled. Just because I don't view it through nostalgia or rose tinted glasses doesn't mean I hate it. You'd do well to learn the difference.

@AtlanteanMan yeah halo infinite has definitely been rushed to get out before Christmas that's why so many features aren't coming till later on , Sony could've probably rushed out horizon forbidden west but it wouldn't have been as polished as people would expect so made the decision to delay it

@Medic_Alert Yeah well said, big "gaming community" sites like Reddit are just toxic and have been having a bad effect on the industry as a whole these days. It honestly comes off as narcissism at a certain point, like it's just a bunch of people who think everything needs to revolve around themselves and their taste/biases. It's definitely one of those loud vocal minority issues as well, because the vast majority of players aren't a part of that scene in any way.

@gollumb82 thanks you reminded me of loading the original elite on the Sinclair spectrum, nearly half an hour of loading squealing To then get a loading error, adjust the tone on the cassette player and try again!
Arghhhh good times.

@Clankylad indeed although Halo does seem to be particularly toxic sometimes.

They nailed the gameplay - just need to figure out the best way to improve upon their F2P model. I am sure it will get fixed.

I'm still confused by all this on general. The problem with f2p is p2w. Gating progression behind paying, gating equipment to play effectively by paying. Like Activision pairing people against dlc players and making the game easier if you buy the dlc, briefly, to keep you buying to make the game system easier
Casino tactics. Afaik halo doesn't have any of that, it's just cosmetic. Isn't that just plain old freeware but with paid custom ringtones?

The confusion I feel lies on the multiple meanings of "f2p". But then I also still don't understand how that makes any money at all. I've also never known anyone that's paid money for a ringtone.

The progression could still need some work. My main gripes are the cross play/KBM & the team balancing in quick play. Got the battle pass, generally enjoying the game. But if those 2 points don’t get adressed I don’t think I will stick with the MP. The way the game is monetized is fine foor F2P. But I think most F2P games could learn a lot from a game like war frame.

Fans are heavily invested in a franchise and are enthusiastic for more HALO. That doesn't excuse this type of behaviour. The multiplayer is entirely free-to-play, albeit with a significant amount of "bought content." The multiplayer is technically in beta. Some members in the gaming community tend to be incapable of providing constructive criticism or even simply expressing displeasure in a manner that isn't "I'm going to kill your family" threats. I believe it is unhealthy to directly approach and participate with certain members of communities like this Reddit site; they appear to be as repulsive as the Last of Us 2 gang.

@FriendlyOctopus Barely any maps, $20 armour sets, lackluster Battle Pass with many of its stuff teased before launch gutted and sold on the store, no game specific playlists like Slayer only, lackluster customization, really bad progression and pretty bad events.

Sure the gameplay is great but the MP going F2P is just an accuse to bleed money from players. The personal attacks and insults are wrong i agree but right now COD of all things is handling MP better then Halo right now. So come on sure defend the workers just doing their job but lets not defend 343 and MS who are clearly just trying to find the best way to milk players dry.

@John117 Some nice lowkey trolling there.

@WallyWest I'm gonna do you a favour and admit I didn't read past your fist line. I don't care.

@John117 COD has a better battle pass, has more content MP wise, has a better reward system and even has better priced MTX stuff. Halo Infinite's MP is great gameplay wise but i'm not going to suck 343's d*ck when they fail to nail basic Halo stuff and are exploiting the hell out of its userbase and writing responses acting like they're the victims while they charge $20 for an armour set and only give out a handful of mediocre maps.

The fact you call 343/MS what's a Corp your heroes just screams fanboy, i legit thought you were trolling with that statement.

@FriendlyOctopus Ironic considering you wrote a ranty essay moaning that people have a problem with something you like.

@WallyWest you didn't have to read it 😂😂😂😂

@John117 By that logic you should have great respect for Dice and Grovestreet Studios and CDPR.

Look clearly i'm dealing with a fanboy here and one whose very naive to the upper management side of gaming. I think everyone with a sane brain respects the "drones" just trying to make a living but that doesn't mean we have to respect the people with the power and dictate how the game goes down. I can assure you the game being F2P is there so they can milk as much money from you as possible, its not a pro-gamer move its there to get the "whales" spending on sh*tty battle passes (what were downgraded for the final release making them even worse) and overpriced cosmetics. The gameplay again is fantastic and its why i've sunk a ton of hours into it and will continue to do so but everything else is far from flawless and 343 are naive if they think they can continue with this attitude for the next 10 years.

@John117 I don't think you understand what "AAA" game making is. I don't want Halo for free i would rather the MP was part of the full package and not F2P as that means it would have more content and 343/MS would have to go easier on MTX and all that rubbish.

I don't know why you keep bringing up money, your jobs and all that as it has nothing to do with 343 and Halo. End of the day games cost money and a fair bit of money so people naturally don't want a lackluster game what's barren and broken, its thanks to complaining and criticizing that issues will be sorted, taking it in the ass and just accepting things doesn't solve anything and just lets the Devs do what they like. I mean look at the backlash Avengers got for the P2W stuff it added, the playerbase exploded with anger, the game got a ton of bad press and CD were forced to remove them.