As reported on Xbox’s Most Played list via Windows Central, Halo Infinite has overtaken Destiny 2 in terms of player count. At thetime of writing, Halo is sitting at the number 16 spot while Destiny sits at number 17. The article touts this as an indication that Halo Infinite is finally “good” (as so many outlets have been desperate to say over the past year or so), and maybe it is. After the disaster that was the game’s launch and a big personelle shake up at 343i, it seems the developer has indeed added a lot to the game since the end of 2021.

However, it’s also true that Xbox doesn’t have a whole lot going fo it gamewise at the moment, and yet this apparently new and improved Halo Infinite still can’t even crack the top ten. That’s not necessarily an indication of quality, but I do feel that it is one of where Halo sits as a franchise, not to mention the whole “launch it now, fix it later” attitude that is still altogether too prevelent at the AAA level.

Halo Infinite could have been a great and exciting entry in the series, but that would have only happened if 343i/Microsoft actually cared about making a fun game, which of course they didn’t. What they did care about is making a “forever game” as quickly as they could, as feature-bare as they could get away with, and as addictive and monetizable as possible. THAT is how you get launch-state Halo Infinite: a game that was effectively half of what Halo 3 was, barely functioned, and yet had the sheer audacity to charge stupidly high prices for each and every little thing.

Not to mention 343i’s shelving of promised features because they didn’t want to put in the necessary time and energy to deliver them, never mind that players were able to glitch their way into stable implementations of said features (still gonna claim that splitscreen co-op is impossible 343?). This didn’t stop people from buying what they were selling and going to bat for the game every chance they got, but it’s still looking like most players aren’t coming back. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if Halo Infinite is only seeing th numbers it is because it’s for “free” on Game Pass.

Now, it’s been about two years since the whole debacle began, which is about the amount of time it takes for the usual suspects to start asking former fans and players to forgive the developer/publisher and come back. They’ve worked hard to make it good, right? Why not give them another chance?

I say no. No, I won’t, because I remember what there intention was and still is (let’s not kid ourselves here): to rake in as much money as possible while delivering as little game as possible. All this stuff that’s been added has only been done so in a desperate attempt to bring players back and get them hooked on the cosmetics and battle passes.

It’s still not about making a fun game first and foremost. Furthermore, forgiving this behavior and ultimately giving them the money is what ensures that these garbage practices continue. They know that they just have to wait for the bad press to blow over and then they can guilt and cajole people into giving them their money, allowing them to still win and be rewarded in the end.

Look, if you like Halo Infinite and enjoy playing it, then fine; more power to you I guess. Just remember that it’s getting your money that they care about, not creating an actually good product. I’d say I hope everyone involved learns a lesson here so that the next Halo game will be better, but I’m really not confident that that’s actually possible.

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What do you think of Halo Infinite? Do you care that it’s getting better or not? What about GaaS?

Image from Halo Waypoint