The expectations surroundingHalo Infiniteprior to its launch were massive, with the release being one of the most talked-about titles that the franchise had seen in a long time. Unfortunately, the 2021 release of the game sadly fell flat in comparison to this hype.
While many aspects ofHalo Infinitewere well-received by fans, the game as a whole developed a lackluster reputation quickly after launch, with many citing an alleged lack of content within the title. With certain elements ofInfiniteseemingly having a lot more passion behind them than others, it is clear that the effort across different game modes was not uniform. That said, there are comparable industry titles that deal with a wide breadth of content much better thanHalo Infinite, and one aspect of theCall of Duty: Warzonemodel could have been utilized by 343 Industries to produce a much more stable title, that being how the content was handled behind the scenes.
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The Missteps of Halo Infinite
UponHalo Infinite’srelease, many fans quickly flocked to the single-player narrative of the title, which promised to be one of the most ambitious experiences thatHalohad ever curated. Unlike usual franchise installments,Halo Infinite’sstory involved a sizable open world, allowing the player to tackle side content, bounties, and main missions at their own pace and often in their own order. A single team was in charge of both the multiplayer and single-player modes ofHalo Infinite, being solely responsible for a ton of content.
Many were also excited to finally re-experienceMaster Chief as a sole dedicated protagonist, with recentHaloinstallments controversially moving away from the iconic Spartan. While this campaign was considered interesting and layered, many were quick to develop scathing opinions of the game’s multiplayer. Launching with a small range of maps, very few game modes, and even without a Forge mode, players quickly exhausted the offered content ofHalo Infinite’smultiplayer and lambasted the lack of replayability or progression that the mode possessed. Between post-launch needs for tweaks to its campaign and a huge bolstering of multiplayer content, it’s clear to see why so much strain was placed on the single team behindHalo Infinite.
How Warzone’s Approach Would Have Benefited Halo Infinite
TheCall of Duty: Warzonesubfranchise began in 2020, with theCoDIP boldly stepping into the saturated world of battle royale shooters. Despite the saturation of this particular market,Warzonewould go on to be a massive success, recently receiving its own sequel to play alongside 2022’sModern Warfare 2.
UnlikeHalo Infinite,CoD: Warzonepossesses its own dedicated team that works away from the team that developsthe single-player of theModern Warfareseries. Crucially, this allowsWarzoneto be ambitious, while receiving the necessary amount of time and resources to produce well-received and polished content which otherwise may be rushed and lackluster. As well as this, this clear delegation of workload works to the benefit of the mainlineModern Warfaregames, which gain from not having to focus time away from their own experiences to work onWarzone.
ThisWarzoneteam is also working onthe core multiplayer of theMWfranchise, with the scale and involved content of these combined ventures being larger than what workloadHalo Infinite’smultiplayer potentially required. It makes sense in this way thatHalo Infinitecould have benefited greatly from separate teams working individually on single-player and multiplayer content for the game, especially given how successful this formula has been for the comparableWarzonefranchise. While this would not completely absolve theHalogame of its pitfalls, a smarter delegation of workload could have led to a much greater level of consistency.
Halo Infiniteis available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
