Cursed From The Start - The Tragedy of Halo Infinite

[00:21] Halo 5: Guardians proved divisive amongst  longtime fans who were disappointed that   series protagonist Master Chief didn’t serve as  the sole playable hero. Out of the backlash came a   lesson for developer 343 Industries, resulting in  the team establishing a new pillar for the brand  

[00:37] going forward, which centered on paying homage  to the Halo that Xbox gamers fell in love with   years prior. Thus, the shooter that later bore the  name Infinite returned Chief to the forefront.  

[00:49] The studio acted upon a few other ambitions as  well, chiefly exploring a more open-ended gameplay   structure and free-to-play multiplayer. It all  manifested courtesy of engineers dedicating a   good chunk of development to building a new set of  proprietary tools, the SlipSpace Engine. However,  

[01:05] admittedly insufficient management and a rash  of technical shortcomings nearly prevented Halo   Infinite from reaching its true potential,  evidenced by the ill-fated Ascension demo   that debuted during Xbox’s 2020 Games Showcase. As  opposed to the fast-paced gameplay 343 Industries  

[01:22] focused on showing off, poor visuals received  the brunt of public attention, giving rise   to internet memes and the game’s one-year-long  delay out of the Xbox Series X|S launch window.  

[01:34] But even that delay and its subsequent  improvements couldn’t ensure Halo Infinite   left a positive and lasting impression on series  die hards. Several post-launch woes plagued the   experience, particularly on the multiplayer  front, yet again inciting discussions about  

[01:48] whether or not Halo was in good hands. This is the Tragedy of Halo Infinite.  

[03:45] Days after shipping Halo 3, series creator Bungie  split from Microsoft to establish itself as an   independent entity. Microsoft had already begun  forming a new internal studio entirely dedicated   to the Halo brand, so when Bungie released  its final installment with 2010’s Halo: Reach,  

[04:02] 343 Industries readily took the reigns.  A remaster of the seminal Combat Evolved   constituted 343’s debut, one lauded for its  incredible fan service and preservation of the   beloved classic. The crew’s first original  adventure in the Halo universe, Halo 4,  

[04:18] also fared well critically and among players,  despite some questioning why it strayed from   the storytelling formula of the Bungie era.  Notably, the concerns about quality most   associated with the 343-developed titles didn’t  rise to the fore until the disastrous launch  

[04:34] of The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One. The MCC hit store shelves in November 2014 with   several Halo games packed in, supposedly providing  the definitive onboarding point for Xbox One  

[04:47] owners who’d never stepped into the boots of the  iconic armored soldier. But technical difficulties   riddled the experience, the vast majority of them  besetting the eagerly-anticipated multiplayer   suite. Joining parties proved a pain, contacting  friends seemed nigh on impossible, matchmaking was  

[05:04] a nightmarish affair, and game chat regularly cut  in and out. These issues weighed on the collection   and Xbox One’s troubled early years like an  albatross for months on end. 343 and Microsoft  

[05:16] pushed incremental updates to get the ball rolling  every now and again, yet the MCC wouldn’t receive   the monumental fixes it desperately needed  until an enhanced version for the Xbox One X   console arrived in 2018 with a 70GB patch. Questions of 343’s competency sparked from  

[05:34] these woes and were further amplified by Halo  5’s disappointing campaign. Community members   pondered whether Microsoft should hand control  of its flagship franchise to another group;   some even argued that 343 had ruined the series.  All the while, the studio had its head down,  

[05:49] laying the foundations for the narrative and  technology that would carry Halo forward through   the ninth-console generation. 343 performed  

[06:11] a lot of heavy lifting when crafting Halo  4, most notably modifying the game engine   previously built by Bungie. The engine’s native  resolution capabilities were completely overhauled  

[06:23] and new technologies ensured the shooter  could keep up with contemporary lighting   and framerate standards. During an IGN Unfiltered  sit-down, then-Head of 343 Bonnie Ross described   the old Halo engine as “very technical,  engineering-focused” technology, the kind  

[06:39] that creatives struggled to manage. Ross and  other leaders assured developers the production   pipeline and tools would be much improved in  time for Halo 5; however, when development on   the fifth numbered entry began, nothing of note  had changed. According to Ross, the crew wasted  

[06:55] no time calling leadership on its bluff. Unwilling to repeat past mistakes,   studio bosses elected to breakaway from  the usual three-year production cycle,   setting aside time for "building the platform  for the future of Halo.” In its nascent phases,  

[07:09] 343’s vision for the next installment reportedly  bore the resemblance of an open-world adventure,   which warranted the necessary technology to fully  support it. Engineers prioritized orchestrating an   engine powerful enough for next-gen production but  also kept in mind 343’s need for something nimble,  

[07:26] as to give creatives and engineers the flexibility  to work more efficiently across the board.   Higher-ups within the office moved to enter full  production on the new Halo endeavor before all   of SlipSpace’s disparate parts were in place, a  short-sighted decision that later cost the the  

[07:42] final product dearly. Still, the crew persisted,  letting lessons learned from Halo 5 serve as a   guiding light, along with the premise of returning  the IP to its core roots. In a June 2018 blog  

[07:55] post, 343 Industries Head Chris Lee admitted that  Halo 5 had strayed too far from Master Chief by   splitting the focus between the franchise hero  and Spartan super soldier Jameson Locke. Bonnie  

[08:08] Ross echoed this sentiment elsewhere, calling  the Locke angle an “interesting side story” but   not one worth telling in a numbered installment. This thinking didn’t prevent the development house   from exploring new avenues with Infinite;  it simply reinforced the idea that every  

[08:23] change should constitute an extension of the main  character. As such, the sandbox team designed the   game world to make players feel like Master Chief.  Countless wild ideas were thrown around during the   ideation stage, for example, one of which birthed  the all-new grappling mechanic. Exploring the  

[08:39] grapple hook’s full range of capabilities  required the introduction of verticality,   something developers hardly concerned themselves  with when producing previous Halo entires.   But despite an open-ended structure and increased  verticality, 343 maintained that it preferred not  

[08:54] to view Infinite through the lens of an  open-world game. The push for exploration   and a greater sense of discovery were pivotal  for paying homage to the past, as side areas,   audio logs, and other lore-oriented points  of interest littered the sandbox. However,  

[09:08] Character Director Steve Dyck told VGC the  studio intentionally avoided implementing   the grind most associated with open-world  adventures. No one felt comfortable making   players incessantly battle foes to gain  XP and upgrade their character; after all,  

[09:23] classic Halo combat mandated that Master  Chief always push the action forward.  

[09:54] Just as Master Chief anchored the core themes of  the production, so, too, did he sit at the nexus   of the game’s eventual reveal. Though 343 started  conceptualizing the new chapter shortly after   deploying Halo 5 in 2015, the public wouldn’t  receive its first glimpse of Infinite until  

[10:10] Microsoft’s E3 2018 press conference. Microsoft  opened the briefing with a two-minute announcement   trailer for Infinite, which amounted to a tech  demo above else and showcased a never-before-seen  

[10:22] look at the new SlipSpace Engine. A series  of stunning environments were the focal   point throughout, demonstrating the sheer beauty  that 343’s technology could capture in wildlife   and natural light. Of course, a brief shot of  Master Chief drew the most applause, signaling  

[10:38] to fans that he and he alone would return to  the driver’s seat for Halo’s next outing.   Developers and Xbox executives drove that  point home during E3 2018 interviews,   but wouldn’t reveal much else outside of promising  to deliver the boldest and most ambitious Halo to  

[10:55] date. Speaking to GameSpot, General Manager  of Xbox’s marketing team, Aaron Greenberg,   said the tech demo served two purposes. For  one, Xbox wanted to confirm a new Halo had   entered production with Chief back at the  helm; secondly, the teaser provided a sneak  

[11:10] peek at the raw power of 343’s new technology. Microsoft and 343 followed up the tease one year   later with a longer cinematic trailer at E3  2019. The nearly six-minute showpiece hinted  

[11:24] at the story that would unfold after the events of  Halo 5, and to the delight of prospective players,   developers also confirmed the much-coveted  return of split-screen multiplayer support.   Understandably, the finer details remained under  wraps but the Halo crew made one thing abundantly  

[11:41] clear—Infinite would arrive in stores for the  console codenamed Xbox Scarlett in fall 2020.   Gameplay footage shown during the Xbox Games  Showcase in July 2020 indicated that Infinite’s  

[11:54] scheduled fall launch was wishful thinking at  best. Unpolished, low-detail graphics especially   stood out to viewers who’d anticipated something  grander. The now-infamous gameplay reveal quickly   became an internet meme, too, with social media  giving the name “Craig” to one unfortunately  

[12:10] flat-faced Brute, in particular. Thus, what  should’ve been a celebration of Halo and Xbox   as a whole exemplified a massive misstep  that resulted in even the staunchest fans   questioning Microsoft’s next-gen strategy. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer later admitted Microsoft  

[12:27] should’ve withheld the July 2020 demo since  all involved knew Infinite wasn’t ready for the   spotlight. No one had any intention of deceiving  the public, he assured, claiming “hope” served as  

[12:39] the motivating factor behind the demonstration’s  premature appearance. 343 employees shared similar   sentiments elsewhere. Campaign Art Lead Justin  Dinges noted in a VGC interview that developers   were well aware of the demo’s unrefined qualities  but believed Halo “needed to be there for Xbox.”  

[12:56] Studio boss Bonnie Ross offered an even more  transparent explanation for the botched reveal   while speaking with CNET. Entering pre-production  and production on the game prior to completing   the SlipSpace Engine “caused a lot of pain”  internally, given that the backwards order of  

[13:11] operations prolonged the time it took for  developers to implement visuals, audio,   and design content. In hindsight, Ross  recognized the biggest issue stemmed from   an overly “ambitious initial creative direction”  that lost track of the primary goal—paying homage  

[13:26] to Halo. She also acknowledged the flaws in  studio leadership, confessing that the crew   had too much on its plate. As one would expect,  revisiting traditional storytelling and offering   unprecedented player agency in a Halo game proved  overwhelming for a group additionally tasked with  

[13:43] building a new engine, exploring free-to-play,  and designing a more expansive world.   Still, the issues that plagued Halo Infinite’s  2020 gameplay demo didn’t catch the developers   by surprise. Ross claimed the pressure to ship the  title in time for Xbox’s new console launch forced  

[13:59] 343 to make a “tremendous amount of cuts,” many  of which engendered visual downgrades. While some   employees raised red flags about the extent of the  cuts, the public’s sour response to the gameplay   reveal served as proof positive that trimming  down the experience had taken a turn for the  

[14:15] worst. Reportedly, a few other internal problems  precipitated the shortcomings seen in the July   2020 demonstration. A  

[14:30] Bloomberg   report published in December 2021 recounted  details given by over 20 then-current and  

[14:51] former 343 employees whose accounts painted a grim  picture about the circumstances surrounding Halo   Infinite’s lengthy production cycle. According to  these accounts, the rampant issues weren’t endemic   to Infinite’s development, either. 343 inherited  inadequate tech tools, which received substantial  

[15:08] modifications for Halo’s fourth and fifth numbered  entries. Understandably, the flaws embedded in   the old technology necessitated the engineering  of SlipSpace, the all-new engine that Microsoft   and 343 touted as a technical behemoth. However, Bloomberg sources divulged that SlipSpace  

[15:25] owed many of its inner workings to a set of tools  known as Faber whose parts could be dated back to   the early aughts. Faber garnered a reputation  at 343 for being buggy and burdensome, courtesy   of what programmers often dubbed “tech debt.” The  term specifically references issues that engineers  

[15:42] begrudgingly abide because a code’s previous  creators cut corners instead of developing stable   solutions. Apparently, Faber’s so-called “tech  debt” proved so costly that Infinite engineers   derisively called it “tech bankruptcy.” Unsteady tools constituted just half the battle,  

[15:59] considering staffing within the studio suffered  from high attrition rates. Those familiar with   343’s operations alleged that contract  workers comprised about 50 percent of the   overall headcount. And since Microsoft would  only employ contractors for 18 months maximum,  

[16:14] the workforce at the Halo-dedicated  firm experienced high turnover.   The Bloomberg report further indicated  that Infinite’s creative direction had   waded through more pitfalls than the developers  publicly let on. Sources described a situation  

[16:27] wherein the shooter hit “crisis mode” by the  summer of 2019, with multiple people saying   the game’s direction was burdened by the division  of 343 into “fiefdoms,” internal groups that vied   for resources and contradicted one another’s  decision-making efforts. One person recalled  

[16:43] it feeling as if four or five games were being  produced concurrently. Around mid-2019, then,   approximately two-thirds of the project landed  on the cutting room floor, triggering a period   of time in which some staffers clocked in with  nothing to do while higher-ups devised the next  

[16:59] best steps. Supposedly, one such decision involved  reducing the scale of the game from a larger   open-world adventure to one smaller in scope. Compromises of this nature accomplished precious  

[17:11] little in terms of preparing the title for its  scheduled release alongside the new Xbox’s launch   lineup. 343 recognized as much, yet Microsoft  remained adamant that the Series X|S needed Halo  

[17:23] Infinite on day one. And, thus, the ill-fated  Ascension demo opened the Xbox Games Showcase   in 2020, replete with deficiencies that spawned  ridicule, memes, and the game’s eventual delay  

[17:35] to late 2021. Postponed  

[18:08] Like it did countless other teams across the  industry, the coronavirus pandemic forced 343   into unfamiliar territory, where developers  suddenly had to navigate working from home.   The remote work mandates further complicated Halo  Infinite’s already struggling production but the  

[18:25] visceral reaction to the July 2020 demo especially  lit a fire beneath the seat of 343’s pants.   After the gameplay reveal crashed and burned,  Bonnie Ross said the studio cleared the office’s   fourth floor and used it as a base of operations  for staff who were comfortable working on-site. In  

[18:43] addition, the team set up monitors so those who  remained at home could still participate in the   day-to-day. Such efforts allowed Infinite’s  creators to work closely as a group for the   first time in months. Weekly evaluations targeting  single-player and multiplayer progress were also  

[18:57] instituted during this period, marking another  step towards correcting the project’s ineffective   management. These changes begat the start of  a new phase of Halo Infinite’s development,   evidenced by Microsoft postponing the release  to 2021. What helped the publisher land on the  

[19:14] relatively difficult choice was guidance  from series veteran Joseph Staten.   Lead writer on the first three Halo games and  Creative Director on Reach, Joseph Staten left   the brand in 2009 and spent years serving as  Microsoft’s Senior Creative Director. Within  

[19:30] a month of the Ascension demo’s disastrous  premiere, Staten rejoined Halo by assuming   the role of Creative Director. Staten’s first  order of business homed in on raising morale,   reminding 343 developers that the flagship IP had  experienced its fair share of less-than-favorable  

[19:46] reveals in the past. Secondly, the new creative  lead put his energy towards persuading Microsoft   that Infinite needed more time in the oven. Staten divulged in a Bloomberg interview that he  

[19:58] compiled “a list of all the things 343 could do  to make Infinite excellent,” then presented his   findings to Microsoft. This, along with a reminder  that no one wanted a redo of the MCC debacle,  

[20:10] convinced the publisher to remove Halo  from the Xbox Series launch window.   Once he settled in to his new appointment, Staten  spearheaded a host of noteworthy changes across   the production, one being a pet project wherein  he ensured that AI-controlled Marines could join  

[20:25] Chief in battle akin to classic Halo adventures.  Of course, the extra year of development made more   significant adjustments possible, as well. The  game had reached near-completion at the time of   the delay, thereby requiring little in the way of  new additions. 343 instead prioritized touching up  

[20:42] existing elements, further refining the grapple  mechanic and introducing “tutorialization” that   encouraged players to use it as much as possible.  Boss encounters similarly underwent an extra   coat of polish, receiving intro segments  that weren’t on the docket pre-delay.  

[21:09] Fresh story-based moments entered the mix, too,  such that extra screen time was set aside for   Infinite’s main antagonist. In the lead up to  launch, Associate Creative Director Paul Crocker   explained that while the narrative worked prior to  these alterations, the extended production cycle  

[21:25] presented an opportunity for 343 to push things  further. The same held true with respect to other   aspects of the wider experience. For instance,  the campaign’s pacing underwent fine tuning;   redundancies fell by the wayside and space  between big moments was drawn out in hopes  

[21:42] of making those moments feeling impactful. Last  but certainly not least, many of the post-delay   improvements focused on drastically upping the  quality of art, gameplay, and performance.   343’s efforts guaranteed Halo Infinite’s  reintroduction during E3 2021 shined  

[21:59] bright compared to its infamous gameplay  premiere. The campaign and multiplayer   footage showcased upgraded visuals, complete  with crisper-looking character models and   better-detailed environments. Such a display  reignited anticipation for the game’s late  

[22:13] 2021 launch, which arrived on December 8  while the free-to-play multiplayer went   live on November 15 in honor of Halo’s 20th  anniversary. To the dismay of many a fan,   however, a long and winding bumpy road  still paved the path ahead.  

[23:01] The year-long delay kept Halo Infinite  out of stores in November 2020,   yet the sci-fi shooter still made headlines  amid the Xbox Series rollout. Though 343 had  

[23:13] previously confirmed Infinite’s free-to-play  multiplayer would include microtransactions,   the announcement of vehicle, weapon, and character  skins known as “coatings” sparked concerns among   community members. Microsoft quickly clarified  that the microtransaction store wouldn’t  

[23:29] constitute the only way to earn cosmetics, but the  well-meaning message faded to the background once   the free-to-play experience became available. Multiplayer’s costly cosmetic items and unbalanced  

[23:41] progression system essentially siphoned the  positivity surrounding the favorably-reviewed   campaign that many called a welcomed return  to form for the franchise. 343 responded to   the backlash by implementing price reductions in  early 2022; however, by the middle of the year,  

[23:58] Halo’s in-game purchases were back in  the news for all the wrong reasons.   As the title’s approach to monetization  vacillated between acceptable and controversial,   fans patiently awaited the addition of Forge  mode and campaign co-op. The studio postponed  

[24:14] both on multiple occasions, each delay whittling  away at the excitement yet promising something   genuinely special. Unfortunately,  the lengthy wait culminated in the   split-screen feature's cancellation, though  the Forge level editor launched in November  

[24:28] 2022 and surpassed an impressive one million  user-made creations in a matter of months.   343 asserted its intention of continuing  to support the level editor, even after   Microsoft’s mass layoffs cost nearly 100  developers their jobs. That commitment  

[24:45] similarly applies to seasonal updates boasting  new maps, modes, and Battle Pass tiers. In time,   Halo Infinite may find itself headed down the  path of redemption, although the turbulent   multiplayer launch and shelved split-screen  feature will undoubtedly linger in the  

[25:00] minds of players for a long time to come. When asked how 343 settled on the Infinite   subtitle, now-former studio head Bonnie Ross  noted that beginning a new console generation   with a numbered entry sent the wrong message to  series newcomers. The Infinite name illustrated  

[25:17] a “fresh start” for the company’s vision of Halo,  a “platform upon which to build its storytelling   for the next 10 years.” Disappointingly,  the platform was forged on shaky ground,   its very foundation bolstered by  mismanagement and faulty technology.  

[25:33] Unsubstantiated reports suggest  the studio may change course,   specifically by abandoning SlipSpace and  working with Unreal Engine. Allegedly,   this supposed possibility hasn’t gone over well  with some staffers who fear abandoning proprietary  

[25:48] technology will prevent future Halo games from  feeling like Halo. It would seem the shortcomings   of SlipSpace and Infinite may have significantly  upset 343’s 10-year plan, perhaps so much so that  

[26:00] Master Chief’s next major outing could once again  prove wildly different than the Halo games of old.