How to Save Halo Infinite

[@Niknokinater]

While Halo's definitely savable, I'm really not that confident that's possible in 343's hands. Literally 10 years of "we'll do better, we promise !"

[@criticalripz]

The Halo community has Stockholm syndrome with 343i because we were treated so well by Bungie.

[@limonbattery]

@@criticalripz It's more because each release was so underwhelming it made people desperate to believe the next would be better, because surely things couldn't get worse. That's why we had so many people glossing over Infinite's concerning pre-launch details or its initial lack of content.

[@arnox4554]

Here's the thing though... Everyone's pointing their fingers at 343, but how much of this shit is on Microsoft's shoulders? Why are we always blaming 343 for something that might very well actually be caused by Microsoft management? For example, I HIGHLY doubt that ANYONE at 343 jumped and shouted for joy when they had to implement an egregious microtransaction system.

[@Fuk99999]

@@arnox4554 It’s both. Bonnie Ross is the head of 343i. Go give her career history a read some time. She’s a Microsoft lifer

[@limonbattery]

@@arnox4554 "For example, I HIGHLY doubt that ANYONE at 343 jumped and shouted for joy when they had to implement an egregious microtransaction system." lmao tey literally did in their own vidoc series on Halo 5's development.

[@cyberbfostar]

Social features is a must. Let us connect with the community. Pre Game Lobbies, veto system, service records that also show off your Spartan, file share, military progression system that's based on performance, ect.

[@ThatsaToilet]

Never gonna happen sadly

[@TheJoviLovi]

@@ThatsaToilet let him be hopeful, this is reality for you not for others

[@Windjammer19]

Exactly. Reach wasn't the best competitive scene, but it was amazing for the casual/social players. And I think that's the difference between it and Infinite.

[@kingdomkey2262]

@@Windjammer19 I thought the comp scene died at Reach due to bloom and armor abilities

[@bombomos]

This. It feels so discounted with no lobbies

[@AustinH7]

The way to save Halo is to have a solid developer. 343 is just not it in its current form. Either fix 343 or get rid of them.

[@ClassMRule]

were it so easy

[@tyguy3876]

When u realize Microsoft just hired a bunch of halo fans who know little about game development...

[@limonbattery]

@@tyguy3876 They didn't even hire Halo fans, at least not back during Halo 4. Then again with their majority contractor workforce on Infinite... what are the odds the average revolving door employee there was a Halo fan either.

[@tyguy3876]

@@limonbattery huh well I stand partially corrected. 343 still hasn't delivered a decent Halo game since their inception. I still have hope for infinite but it's got a crap foundation.

[@brickweathertop7907]

@@tyguy3876 it’s got an absoutely out of the park masterpiece foundation tf? The people have never been so unequivocally in love with the gameplay since Halo 3

[@callywally3760]

When Reach came out back in 2010 the first thing I did was load up forge and fly around in a falcon until my friends got on so we could play the campaign on co op, I had a friend over playing split screen with me too. After that we went on firefight to play around with all the new settings, making ourselves custom loadouts and choosing which enemies to fight. It was awesome seeing my entire friends list in the roster with their Spartan on display, some on campaign, some trying out invasion or all the other cool options matchmaking provided. I remember being so excited about the file browser, I wouldn’t have to look through dozens of file shares after a game of Big Team Battle for the newest custom games maps anymore. Isn’t it fucked how none of those features are currently present in Infinite? Artistically it’s a cool looking game, they ditched the weird art style for something that actually looks like halo but still fictionally infinite is lacking so much of what made halo games special. I understand it had a very rough development but man I just feel so exhausted putting my faith into 343.

[@Marinealver]

#ModernGaming We had more in the past, now we have less and have to pay more.

[@gr1mrhymes363]

"We might not be able to save halo infinite but we can save halo " perfectly said love u man

[@madcowkiller10]

If i had a euro for every time i heard this over the past 5 years , i still wouldnt give a single cent for that battlepass

[@Mntan]

people in 2012-2013: "we might not be able to save halo 4 but we can save halo" people in 2014-2016: "we might not be able to save halo master chief collection but we can save halo" people in 2015-2017: "we might not not be able to save halo 5 but we can save halo" people in 2022: "we might not be able to save halo infinite but we can save halo"

[@brickweathertop7907]

Oh I found the ragebait circle jerk shills here hahahahahah!!! Explain to me this, if infinite is so bad that it’s unsavable why is currently the number 8 most played game on Xbox? Why did Infinite win countless GOTY awards or a 87 metacritic?

[@thegreatgatsby9583]

@@brickweathertop7907 Cuz all the other games sucked so bad. You excuse shitty developers because “mah gamplay”. Stop being a shill. Halo infinite is horrible.

[@sexylazercatwizard]

@@brickweathertop7907 bro, halo is struggling to be in the top ten games played on Xbox, its console's flagship title and it is 7-10 spots below a 5 year old game. Then you got steam charts which are worse. Metacritic score were good at release, and awards feel meaningless in the triple A market, especially when something like COD vanguard gets multiple awards.

[@RuGra7zz]

343 is like that abusive partner that keeps letting you down and disappointing you, but then you tell yourself "well maybe next time will different/they might change, etc". In the end you just keep getting hurt from getting strung along like that. Other gaming companies do this as well; they test just how much the fans will put up with because...well fans love the franchise and enjoy it's artform. However, they can't just keep getting away with it. It's time to just dump these companies completely, they survive off of our money after all. 343 is no exception.

[@criticalripz]

343i should be replaced with iD SoftWare.

[@limonbattery]

@@criticalripz Jokes on us, Microsoft bought Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard so they can pump money on other FPS in case Infinite really does flop.

[@Wepospalient]

pretty much how I feel at this point, every time a new halo comes out I keep hoping and hoping that halo will be back in all it's glory, that 343 will knock it out of the park and produce something on the level of bungie's games, and they just never do. I love halo to death and I always hope it will improve, but it never seems to really get to that point of greatness under 343.

[@SerfsUp1848]

Can we stop comparing everything to abusive partners? Like anyone here has had a partner😜

[@PackHunter117]

And we keep coming back because they do things like bring MCC to pc and will add Flood and Elites to ODST Firefight soon. But then we’re right back to getting slapped when they do the shit they do in Infinite

[@majesticblasian651]

"You can't quench thirst with a drop of water" I totally agree with this, and is a great takeaway of the state of Infinite right now.

[@Marinealver]

Just an idea, Long Night of Solace meets Ace Combat.

[@FavynTube]

Hey thanks for checking out this video. While this video was in the editing phases 343 released a statement regarding plans for Season 2 and beyond. Given the nature of that statement and the response to it...I think you'll agree that the points made within this video are extremely relevant. Let me know what you think!

[@ch33zyburrito36]

Don’t care, elden ring

[@TheJoviLovi]

I'm really wanting the best of this game, really sucks rn, but I still try to be involved in the community with my own beliefs and opinions.

[@lordxmugen]

i like how on the same day as you posting this Infinite's Lead Multiplayer guy left. You just cant write this kind of comedy gold. LMAO! XD

[@TheJoviLovi]

@@lordxmugen Didn't the lead left yesterday?

[@lordxmugen]

@@TheJoviLovi did he? i just heard about it today. but then the last few days have just been about all the BS surrounding infinite and how content creators feel kinda betrayed about it and 3 months of no real anything.

[@seth3491]

The problem is 343's management. They've been constantly making terrible decisions.

[@Jellybob69]

Bonnie Ross, Frank O’Connor and so on need to go. Wipe the upper management clean and get new, more talented spearheads at the top of this company to turn things around.

[@TheJoviLovi]

Agreed, no shit on those who love the game and want it to be better

[@AustinH7]

@@Jellybob69 frank O connor never should have gotten such a high up position. He was more or less a dude who wrote blog posts for them. He only got his high up position at 343 because he was a senior staff at bungie.

[@kenl659]

The problem is the fanbase who defend 343i constantly.

[@AzureRoxe]

@@gabogaberiuxs And many idiotic fanboys still say that,

[@FoxyGrandpa1]

I hope my gameplay will justify Favyn’s video because we all know that people with good gameplay, know what they’re talking about😌 EDIT: No but seriously, is there any way I could improve the editing for this video? I like to get feedback from the audience.

[@soulcalx]

more teabagging would be good

[@FoxyGrandpa1]

@@soulcalx i can do that

[@jessecommins4499]

You should add a grenade counter 😂

[@Stukev]

Probably more images relating to what he's talking about every 30 seconds or something, make the viewer feel like watching the video rather than just listening in the background

[@sconeeeestuff]

love your content, editing and gameplay, no complaints you killed it

[@kurttrevelyan051]

I agree 100%. Unfortunately I don’t have faith that it will regain relevance, but Halo is good enough for me to stick with it regardless

[@aidandavis7657]

I think 343 did a detriment to making it a “return to form.” Halo has become extremely irrelevant amongst younger gamers. No one I know plays it, despite it being free and on PC. Everyone plays war zone or fortnite or GTA.

[@TheJoviLovi]

@@aidandavis7657 BR has aged too well and yet so many wanted it to come to Halo. What a joke, wouldn't even play those 3 titles

[@jackcolson4745]

@@aidandavis7657 Halo is not irrelevant for just being "old", It's irrelevant because, 1. it hasn't had a release in 6 years, and 2. Its recent releases have been botched and the dev team half asses trying to fix the games.

[@GallowayJesse]

Halo declined because it was trying to follow trends starting with Reach, instead of picking up where halo 3's gameplay left off. If halo had just stuck with equal starts & map-based power ups & weapon pick-ups instead of trying to copy COD/BF the series would've fared much better.

[@limonbattery]

@@jackcolson4745 This. What Halo fans don't seem to get is that many FPS fans nowadays will bounce between several games anyway, especially if they aren't super sweaty - often it's just whatever you and your friends currently feel like playing. The problem is if your offering (Halo Infinite) is clearly not on par with the rest, you can't expect them to bounce back to you when they're already playing other games with more content and polish.

[@IcanBeatThat]

The low content was something I was worried about when they announced it was free to play.

[@EskChan19]

Everyone knows that "Live Service" is just a nicer name for "Early Acess". The only live service game I have come across that launched feature complete and then actually ADDED to it instead of releasing a bare skeleton and then FINISHING development was Monster Hunter World. All other live service games have been a minimal viable product that had just enough content to make people pay for it, and then they let people celebrate them for actually finishing development of their game "for free". Back then a game had to launch at 100% and then that was it. Now they release at 50%, and let people celebrate "free updates" leading up to the 100% that the game would have released at 10 years ago.

[@Gleem90]

100% agree , can’t believe this video needed to be made considering every halo game prior

[@_HPX_]

From the start, I knew that shipping without Forge and social features was going to massively hurt the game's momentum and longevity. Can you imagine if Infinite had launched feature complete? Folks who don't enjoy what might be the sweatiest "casual" multiplayer in the series could have found their niche in the limitless potential of custom games and Forge. The community would be so much bigger and so much more healthy with something for everyone. We know that Infinite's development was a train wreck and everything we've seen so far leads me to believe that this game just isn't built to support a live service model, to say nothing of 343's turnover rate and overreliance on outsourcing/contract work. They keep bleeding talent and are unable to build institutional knowledge which keeps leading to blunder after blunder. The culture at the studio likely needs some reevaluation, but all I can do is speculate. I just wonder if this game is actually capable of fulfilling its stated goals.

[@mosesdevadass6056]

It’s just a waiting game at this point. I for one am curious to see what happens, but I’m not a big multiplayer guy.

[@carteljameson8395]

The Halo community didn't want Infinite to be released feature complete. If they did, they would have demanded the game to be delayed for at least another year. But this community is full of a bunch of cry babies who lack the patience to wait that long. And now they're complaining about the lack of content for a game that was released before it should have been.

[@yewtewbstew547]

@@carteljameson8395 What makes you think the people complaining that the game is incomplete are the same ones who were impatient for its release? They probably aren't. A "community" is made up of individuals, it's not just a homogenous hive mind ruled by the lowest common denominator. And honestly the reason Halo Infinite launched as it did when it did is mainly Microsoft. They delayed it for a year because they felt pressure from the "community", but I kinda doubt anything could have convinced them to delay it for _another_ year. There comes a point where they're more concerned with $$$ than their reputation, and this time that point just happened to be one year later.

[@EmergencyChannel]

@Cartel Jameson The game would have came out a year earlier and have even less content and polish if it was up to Microsoft. The community of "crybabies" as you call them is the reason why Microsoft delayed the game a year to fix the game in the first place.

[@carteljameson8395]

@@EmergencyChannel This is revisionist history on your part. Y'all didn't complain to them about "fixing" the game. It wasn't about content. You complained because of the graphics. There was more backlash against the fucking graphics in that first demo than there were when co-op was announced to be delayed. Fucking pathetic.

[@jimmybob331]

I think Favyn is one of the few content creators who have spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not the game is any good. We've seen a lot of people start complaining about the lack of content. I think the reason they've realised it now is because 1) the game hasn't really added any new content in 4 months and 2) the criticisms put forward in your disappointment video have come to fruition. The game has only a few maps, there are problems with the balancing of the game and all the other issues people are very aware of. Honestly, I've played 2 matches in the past 2 months. I had over 2000 matches in Halo 2 and more on Halo 3. Also, why does Favyn speak like Tim Pool?

[@manz7860]

I've noticed a huge influx in New players to halo 5. People have been jumping ship.

[@GoldLBS]

@@manz7860 halo 5 has dropped in xbox most played. I think destiny 2 and apex recently getting content is a bigger factor. Tbh i think halo being live service sucks but if its a persistent game like its current competition then expect huge spikes and dips in population. Apex was falling off until a couple seasons ago now its back up. People are being too dramatic imo.

[@silentsangheili4895]

I had high hopes that maybe things would have changed, but my patience has been tested and pushed to it‘s limit. The lack of content, the bugs, the crippling silence, and empty promises have left me defeated. Maybe someday I will pick up Halo Infinite again, but as of right now I’m moving on to other games that keep me invested and engaged.

[@Andrew87454]

We already went through this with Halo 5. 343 selling us half a game and giving us the rest over time paid with microtansations. I don't know why they thought this would work just because Infinite has classic gameplay. We can just play MCC. It should have released content complete and we should be getting brand new modes and maps over time as live service DlC.

[@OrangeJambo]

With them claiming MP as a beta, there NEEDS to be a "1.0 Relaunch". Agreed with this so much, Forge needs a file browser.. Game modes need a server browser..

[@llamalad4903]

I want to see this game succeed and I completely agree that this is what the game needs to do however I feel like it 343 would never do this

[@NutsorSomethingBerserk]

Things that need to be incorporated into Halo Infinite in no particular order: Campaign - Replayable Missions - Campaign Coop - Split-screen Features - Forge & Custom Games Browser - MP Progression System akin to Reach or Halo 3 - Performance based XP that progresses Battlepass and MP Rank - Proper Service Record - Firefight - More Modes, Playlists, and Maps Customization - Cross Core Customization (Specfically coatings but helmet, wrist, and hip attachments should also have this luxury. Even better if all armor pieces are cross core) - Ability to equip multiple helmet attachments as long as they don’t conflict with one another - Ability to apply coatings on attachments or individual pieces of armor - More in-cannon/serious looking armor pieces than goofy, wacky pieces Fixes, Balance Changes and Overhauls - Weapons such as the Pulse Carbine, Plasma Pistol and Ravager require buffs, amongst other balance changes that need to take place - Balance changes to sandbox in MP should also take effect in campaign if they’re positive changes to the weapon or equipment - Vehicles require buffs across the board. Health being the primary issue, Banshee requiring buffs to it’s weapons - UI/UX menus. This will only get worse as more content is added to the game. - Theater and Customs need to be fixed - Challenge System Overhauled to be more robust and akin to games like Apex or MCC - All challenges that are creating player frustration will be removed or looked into making less frustrating - General Bug fixes and anti-cheat - Ranked Progression System Monetization (my personal takes) - Battlepass revamped (Armor pieces, specifically shoulder pieces should be bundled together instead of separately, less filler tiers, and you’re able to progress non-linearly much like MCC) - Store overhauled to be a catalog with the bundles being the rotational items for those who want the most value - Pricing model I’d like to see in place for bundles & individual items Bundles: Legendary Bundle = 1000-1500 credits Epic Bundle = 500-750 credits Rare Bundle = 250-500 credits Individual Items: Legendary = 500 credits Epic = 400 credits Rare = 300 credits Common = 150 credits - Only event bundles and items such as fracture events will be limited time in the store, everything added via content updates and seasons will be available as rotational bundles or individual items at all times in the store - Ability to earn credits in-game through play (whether it be through completing all weekly challenges or per-game basis, players should be able to earn credits to some capacity even if it’s a grind. Not just through the battlepass alone) Community Management - Honesty and transparency. Corporate talk and excuses will no longer work here - Don’t engage in the toxic behavior of some sections of the community, only be open with those that offer genuine concerns, criticism, and questions - Roadmaps. Release them. If you need time, don’t give us an exact date. ETA’s will do but Halo fans need something to look forward to. Silence is no longer a valid option

[@JellyfishRave]

Man your videos all go so unbelievably hard in a way that no other Halo channel quite captures. This one especially so. Keep up the CRAZY impressive work!

[@PaleoDrew]

My favorite thing about this video is the gameplay and how you consistently pass up the BR and use the AR lol. In H3 I would have called you a scrub, but thanks to the design philosophy that you brilliantly laid out, it's the right choice from a competitive perspective lol

[@cherryblackblossoms]

Ive seen way to many games follow the exact path infinite has to think that it can be saved. Infinite isnt unique in its failures, evolve, fallout 76, avengers have all done this same exact thing. For halo infinite to come back from the edge it would have to be a completely different game. I look at the decision to make halo's campaign open world and how the team failed to see how challenging co op functionality would be and its apparent delay and i just cant see how they pull this back. I look at forges delay to 6 months after launch and i just dont see how they do it. We all like to think that every game can be saved but very few have actually been able to do it. Most ganes that follow the path of infinite eek out one last screech before they evaporate and i feel like infinites headed the same way.

[@EskChan19]

Funnily enough, of all the games you mentioned, only Fallout 76 managed to turn around. And why was that? Because they actually listened to community feedback, readded NPC's, readded what made Fallout Fallout, Fallout 76 basically DID that giant relaunch content drop with the Wastelanders Update, that this video says 343 needs to do for Infinite. And it worked for them. And it COULD work for Halo Infinite if they did this too. But this is 343 we are talking about. They won't.

[@cherryblackblossoms]

@@EskChan19 while they might have turned the game around they destroyed their rep Like you cant go two seconds into a bethesda trailer or reveal without someone saying "it just works" in chat (referring to tod howard at e3 saying "it just works" before the launch of 76 meanwhile the game launches like shit and doesnt work) Even if halo infinite got saved and thats a big if 343 will never be able to make a halo game without someone remembering they tried 3 times and failed

[@SquanchBlankenship]

343i needs an overhaul as a whole. It really feels like they're getting worse as a development studio with each project. Since H4 each title has taken even longer to produce than the last, with less launch ready features and more limitations. Joe acknowledged the game launching without a spartan career and score based player progression was a known "Hotlist" issue prior to launch in the recent Waypoint post. So they full well knew about a huge player engagement issue glaring them in the face but either chose to ignore it thinking players would be fine GRINDING (or paying) for progression or cannot figure out themselves how to do it with the engine/coding abilities currently at their disposal. I hope Halo infinite can have a huge turn around and rise back, but I also don't want to support 343i anymore. New management, studio, idk, but something has to change internally.

[@easy3032]

Just imagine what Id software would’ve done with 6 years and 500 million dollars…

[@mr.b89]

They made a better halo game in doom 2016's multiplayer

[@brickweathertop7907]

@@mr.b89 that’s a blatant lie. I love DOOM 2016 to absolute death, but the MP in doom was god awful. Why do you think they pretty much completely abandoned it in Eternal?

[@mr.b89]

@@brickweathertop7907 idk man, I had fun with it but I was pretty young back then. I would just put on some slayer and shit and have a blast. Customization was amazing, but I wasn't really as critical of games back then to judge other aspects thoroughly.

[@lorenzozinna4700]

I liked Doom 2016 mp much more than any 343 released halo mp

[@Markchristiankc]

Imagine what BUNGIE could have done 😭

[@mountaindreww]

Favyn I love ur videos so much. There is really still people who shill for this game and defend it and it’s ridiculous. Thank you for pointing out these issues

[@brickweathertop7907]

No one is calling it perfect dumbass. But to ignore the unequivocal love of the gameplay that we have not seen since Halo 3 (same with art style, music, campaign, etc etc etc) is absolutely the biggest win ever. Remember when sprint was a huge debate? Funny, seems to be gone now don’t it???💀😂😂😂

[@vaniellys]

I agree about that new content needs to come in big lumps. A season every 3/4 months with new maps, weapons, enemies, vehicles, modes, etc... Would be more impactful.

[@TheJoviLovi]

If we get 3-4 maps, 1-2 guns, new progression and BP's, more environments for campaign and 3-5 modes a season would really save the game Maybe even more transparency but if they manage to bring so much back without saying anything, I'll be amazed

[@SneedRemembrancer]

That’s was their original plan but since the game was rushed out the door so they took 6 instead of 3 months for season 2 as the game was riddled with issues and making content for the game turned out to be harder than expected.

[@CloneLoli]

Yeah but then supporting it for 10 years really wouldn't be possible, if they add that much every season and a season comes out every 3 - 4 months then we would get too much in all reality, the reason drip feeding was even probably considered by 343 was because they knew adding too much would eventually have a negative effect. Too many maps? Divided playerbase. Too many weapons too fast? Lack of weapon usage or too much balancing to handle. Too many vehicles? Lack of unique usage for vehicles. All that stuff could be implemented but they really needed a steady stream of content, not massive drops every 3 months. They should have had content drops that remade a classic map and added a new gamemode, 1 month after each season dropped. Also each season should have been 3 months apart but contained New Gamemodes, 1 New Weapon or Vehicle and 2 New Maps, 1 4v4 size map and 1 BTB sized map. That way it could be like: Launch Month - Base Game Month 1 - Content Drop 1 = Classic Map + New Gamemode Month 3 - Season 2 = 2 New Maps + 1 New Weapon + New Gamemodes Month 4 - Content Drop 2 = Classic Map + New Gamemode Month 6 - Season 3 = 2 New Maps + 1 New Weapon + New Gamemodes Month 7 - Content Drop 3 = Classic Map + New Gamemode Month 9 - Season 4 = 2 New Maps + 1 New Weapon + 1 New Vehicle + New Gamemodes Month 10 - Content Drop 4 = Classic Map + New Gamemode Month 12 - Season 5 = 2 New Maps + 1 New Weapon + New Gamemodes After all that time that would still be 12 new maps, 4 new weapons and much more. That's more realistic for a "Live-Service".

[@TheJoviLovi]

@@CloneLoli that's... Alot of content lol. Hell no, we've go crazy out of our mind

[@brickweathertop7907]

@@CloneLoli don’t bother. People here are literally blinded by nostalgia. Remember when reach launched with more forge maps than actual maps? Or how the actual maps were literally ripped straight from campaign? Or how the progression took literal years to complete for only 2 battlepasses worth of cosmetic content? So ironic. This game is a knockout win for the gameplay and general Halo feel. Defs need updates and more content, but it’s simply my favorite shooter since DOOM 2016

[@Munnwort]

Favyn you’ve been pumping these videos out quickly & without a drop in quality, I love it.

[@theironrhino110]

I was honestly thinking about the modularity of the Menu Options last night while playing as I constantly quit out of Quick Play matches because they were not Oddball in which I had two Oddball specific challenges to do. I immediately thought back to the older Halo games (I only started playing Halo in 2017) and how you could select specific games and modes you wanted to play and how to play them along with easily inviting and keeping friends in a matches lobby.

[@Fuk99999]

Even MCC doesn’t have this problem because leveling isn’t related to strictly challenges. You need to do them for cosmetics, but even the challenges aren’t awful most of the time because you don’t get obnoxious ones like “get 10 kills with the spiker”

[@NFS0038]

This might blow your mind but old halo (not the MCC system) had dedicated playlists for each mode, up to maybe 20-30 modes, and were so popular it was able to sustain healthy populations for every individual playlist.

[@criticalhalo3657]

It’s always a day when Favyn uploads.

[@jackcolson4745]

i agree it is indeed a day

[@TheTCBreakdown]

This was an extremely well articulated video. Not only is it eloquently put but the subject matter couldn't be more right. 10/10

[@stuarthall9854]

343 killed it when they made it live service - it gave them every excuse to be even more lazy somehow.

[@brickweathertop7907]

Like how Reach needed a year to literally be playable with the TU update? With the worst gameplay in the series by a WIDE WIDE margin it’s so sad Reach was absymal. Still remember the biggest post ever on bungie net when Reach launched “this isn’t Halo” man that games reception was an absolute dumpster fire that killed competitive and Halo over night until Halo 5

[@brickweathertop7907]

@UCri7YifAegKeHKe9xuIG_uA to be fair, forge wasn’t too noteworthy until 5 when you could actually make interesting things. And infinite’s forge is vastly expanded on that with a confirmed fully powered scripting engine, that’s absoutely nutty and I can guarantee your dumbass doesn’t know the technical achievement to get a system like that working on console is. Don’t bring up reach again btw. Maps ripped straight out of campaign with half the map pool being lousy forge maps. It was the most sad thing to ever happen to Halo. Good thing 5 and Infinite brought back godtier FPS gameplay to the series

[@stuarthall9854]

My big argument is that games like Infinite and Halo 5 launch unfinished and focus a lot of their attention on microtransactions/in-game store purchases. The gameplay is more of an afterthought - with Reach, bloom, sprint and everything else at launch was by design, even if it was poor design. Reach offered things like forge, theatre, firefight, custom games and more without having major technical issues or game-breaking bugs for the most part. You got everything the game had to offer from day one, and even then, you’d get expansion passes later on and game-improving updates that dealt with bloom and other settings TU enhanced. I just miss the day and age when we didn’t have to wait years for such important Halo modes like Forge and Theatre/File Share to be implemented when they’re such core features of the Halo experience now.

[@TristanTheVRGamecat]

Gamepass mentality over at Xbox has led to low effort , people are paying anyway it benefits them to hold off on games and updates to keep you paying longer , this is what the Xbox community embraced by defending anti consumer practise , you all mixed up cheap with pro consumer they are not the same thing

[@fonkyfesh-old]

After yet another matchmaking error screen recently, I hate to say that I've given up completely on Infinite and 343 as a whole. Until Halo is given to a team that knows what it's doing, I just can't bring myself to care about the franchise anymore.

[@brandonqarana8277]

Please keep making halo videos. Your channel is good.

[@GearshiftMedia]

Great video. It is awesome to see people start to talk about this again and hopefully it encourages some changes in the future

[@TwoQuickOnes]

Just want you to know that you inspired me to do my first piece of long form halo content.

[@killertruth186]

If you compare Halo Infinite to World of Tanks. Despite them being both very different game by any aspects. I do feel that World of Tanks had done a lot better despite it's decline and problems than Halo Infinite in it's current state. I had felt that it wasn't anything like "60 seconds of fun" in Halo Infinite.

[@xmb_yt9994]

that shattered glass example was a really good one

[@RuGra7zz]

Favyn I admire your optimism, your never-say-die attitude, but as a realist, I must conclude the Halo we once loved is gone for good. As gloom as it sounds personally, I think it's time to bury it and move on.

[@rs-uz7tq]

Thank god you spoke on proper challenges and achivements for armour, I really enjoy vidmaster style challenges and doing them to unlock armour is what makes them that much sweeter and halo infinite needs real challenges to unlock armour other than a shitty battlepass weekly challenges arent a bad thing, but we need proper challenges to unlock armour not shitty weeklies stuff that might make me go back to certain parts of the campaign

[@gildedspark8235]

My unpopular opinion is that we just scrap infinite and start again. There is too much time between content so it would be better to just scrap it and continue adding content to MCC until the next halo. There is also too much technical debt thats why we have problems like UI limitations.

[@McZumba]

This needs way more views.. The arguments are spot on in my opinion!

[@manz7860]

Arguments are*

[@McZumba]

@@manz7860 Thanks, fixed 👍🏻

[@majestic3992]

The issue of releasing content in a drip fed way and the content isnt well designed or balanced well with each other was really really apparent with Total War Three Kingdoms.

[@idrisrobinson5393]

Always a good day when you post man

[@MyBebopBlues]

I remember in Reach and 3, while waiting in pregame lobbies, I’d scroll through all the players and look at their unique Spartans and if a player caught my eye, I’d check out their file share, download anything that sounded fun and later try out the gametype or map after the match was done. I found so many cool things that the community made and its so sad to see nothing like that in Infinite whatsoever

[@NO-FILTER-EXPERT]

The only thing that works in infinite/5 is the micro transaction price tags. Picture the mindset.

[@EskChan19]

@@NO-FILTER-EXPERT The sad thing is that a pre-game lobby like that would actually incentivize this. If you look at a Spartan and think they look cool, you might be more interested in getting those parts as well. But of course that would mean they'd have to actually sell that part. Apart from the fact that having a store like this at all sucks, the FOMO Store model where everything only arrives for a week and after that who knows when you'll see it again is just so stupid. Like honestly, there's this one part I would have actually bought in the store because I need it to recreate my Reach Spartan. But guess what? I must have missed it the first time it came out. And then it never came out again. So I would actually GIVE them money, but they won't LET me.

[@STRONTIumMuffin]

As a UX student, i can say you show a better understanding of UX than 343 has in 3 AAA games...

[@kangtheconqueror8359]

I’ve been telling people I’m an amateur game designer and I could make a better Halo than 343i..people laughed and who’s laughing now. All of us fans with some developement skill can do better and we wouldn’t need that big of a budget either🤣

[@josh11735]

Thank you for putting an emphasis on how these different features all function together. It doesn’t matter if they added Infection or Grifball tomorrow, because without the supporting features that let the community run with them (Forge / functioning custom games / file browser), they’ll never have the impact that they did in past games (I’ll even throw H5 in that pile with how expansive its Forge was). Same thing goes with that progression & unlock system. While a progression system of any sort would be better than right now, when they do finally add it, it can only come across as underwhelming when all the new cosmetics are constantly shoved into the shop/BP (not to mention the awful challenge system underpinning the BP). I think you’re onto something with that pseudo re-launch idea (especially given the way they worded the state of things in their recent update; there’s no way they can keep up a constant update schedule based on what they said there). Anyway, keep up the good work Favyn! :)

[@peanutgallery4]

Favyn's put out more content for Halo Infinite than 343 so far

[@Gildog77]

What's sad is that almost none of this will be done by 343. It's sad that the MCC and H5 both have much better progression systems.

[@oSerpicox]

Fantastic video. I still am floored they managed to release this game so barebones even after delaying it a year.

[@alexyandfriends]

He has returned now that we need him the most

[@vanguze]

Dude was referred to your video series on halo. You are spot on. I echo your thoughts. It will break my heart if this ends halo.

[@TheGirthwormJim]

Honestly with everything that was left out of this game, I think dropping a "Halo Infinite 2" with the complete package AT LAUNCH is the way to go at this point. I love Halo, but I haven't even been able to bring myself to play it over the last couple weeks. This reminds me of the MCC launch where so much was broken, and it took me 8 years to even give it another shot. This is as a Halo fan, imagine how many potential new fans they lost because of the mismanagement of this game. It 1000% should have been delayed again until everything was ready for day 1 of launch.

[@smackdapanda4116]

Miss you man. And im pissed about halo infinite and i feel like people arnt being true to the fact that this halo is missing so many parts of what make a halo game i actually love the gameplay even as a classic halo ce fan

[@finjames4878]

You always put my thoughts into order with your videos. I think a lot of people, myself included, see all that’s wrong and try to dissect it and can’t put the vast quantities of issues into words like you can. I have faith infinite could be what we all want it to be in a year and 3 months. But 343 has shut in, they’ve lost a lead multiplayer designer. The studio, or Microsoft’s way of running this game isn’t working, it has to be changed in order for the game to flourish.

[@crimsonspade4305]

It's not just that the battle passes are boring its that the battle passes breaks what made halo so fun. Earning the armor and gear with feats and not just doing some arbitrary challenge to grind and get what everyone is getting.

[@Spubbily01]

We don't need Halo to be fixed, we need the entire fps genre to be fixed. I swear all this genre needs is a good indie fps game that's designed to be fun and not to make money for the entire genre to turn around, we essentially need an fps game that does to the fps genre what Undertale did to the rpg market.

[@EatThePath-7]

Doom Eternal

[@EatThePath-7]

Also i disagree

[@kingdomkey2262]

Its funny because the game that did all of that back in the day was Halo (and Goldeneye)

[@sumguy7716]

I would really like to see a breakdown of how you view map design in particular. I feel it, along with poor weapon design, is why the game is simply not fun. Almost all of the great Halo maps had a single central open combat space (Lockout, Midship, Construct, Battle creek, Ascension) with surrounding structures or 2 open combat spaces divided by a central structure between two bases (The pit, Warlock/Wizard, Waterworks, Sanctuary). You had the occasional map which didn't follow this formula (Headlong, Zanzibar, etc.) but almost all of them had open spaces with wide ranges of los. Instead of making Halo maps with open combat spaces such as these, they make counter-strike-esque maps with lanes. They obsess over tiny little details of maps like very particular lines of sights which are available on a map, but those things don't matter in a game like Halo because of the TTK and the way the sandbox is designed. I feel like, at an extremely fundamental level, the devs at 343 just don't know what makes a good Halo map and for that reason, I have no hope for the game.

[@clarkbolding2724]

^^

[@solidice5660]

It just hit me as to why Halo Infinite has felt "off" for me since day one. Halo Infinite feels like a mobile game. Ok okay... hear me out!... Like a highly polished mobile game, the perfect Halo for phone. The way the armor cores are presented, the ingame store's layout. The limited sandbox, static symetrical maps, and the weighty feel of the gameplay. Its a good game sure, but it's no where to the level if gaming polish as a next gen pc/console game should be. Going back and forth from Halo 3 and Infinite is like night and day. Halo 3 gives nothing but player expression in the sandbox, the maps feel dynamic, the physics *Chiefs kiss*. Halo Infinite feel like its walking on egg shells, so so close yet so so far. For whatever reason that may be (development, stability, market trends) but Infinite just feels shy of crossing that line into Halo Glory.

[@TheCman5015PLPro]

I already uninstalled Halo Infinite to try Elden Ring. For myself, I play the most on the first day for many games, and then uninstall them the very next day. Gaming has become an indifference to me as i get older. I've realized that a game has to get me to keep the game installed and played for a week of time for it gain a place in my desires for the day. Halo Infinite didn't do it for me. And I also have a huge distaste with spending money so I'd never spend any more money on store items. Welp, good thing cooking is forever enjoyable. Love your videos Favyn.

[@kangtheconqueror8359]

Elden Ring is my GOTY and I don’t like Dark Souls. Can’t even care about Halo and that is sad.

[@TheCman5015PLPro]

@@kangtheconqueror8359 From Software is life. I came in with Sekiro and for that game, I haven't been able to put it down, and I'm nearly at 500 hours. DS3 is getting up there, and I'm still working through DS1 Remastered. Playing Elden Ring right now. I keep dieing to that horse rider in the very beginning of the game, but I get this incredible drive after every death. Elden Ring is soooo fun... Close to no games make me feel the way From Software's games do; well besides Minecraft back in the day.

[@DivineHellas]

I agree, people used to call this a Beta so then this should actually be a Beta and then 343 makes a new release with all the content the game actually was supposed to launch with.

[@honzzz_]

One of my favorite games, Hunt Showdown launched into early access very similiarly to Halo Infinite. It had different issues but the community agreed on the same things: Technical issues and lack of content. Now these 2 games are very different in size, premise and presentation, but when Hunt launched, most of the 10k players it had in the first month put the game aside. In the next 2 years or so, the devs made sure to take as much feedback as they could and added, fixed and iterated on things the community wanted. When the game released into EA it peaked at around 10k and then fell to about 800-2000 concurrent players in peak hours on a weekend. Now its monthly peak is between 20k and 30k for a smaller game made by AA studio. What i wanted to say by this is I think a comeback for Infinite is a very real possibility. I just hope 343 are capable of making it, because this could be their last main Halo title.

[@pr3historic647]

Favyn, with your halo videos I usually agree with your overall sentiment and most of your major points but take issue with a few of them. This is not like one of those videos. You hit the nail squarely on the head. Halo: Infinite needs to restructure its funding model so that it isn't prioritizing shorter term profits but instead is prioritizing having a large playerbase for the long term (if you retain a large playerbase the profits will come).

[@MrSovietPhoenix]

Hey Favyn , What people don't realize is that if everything you pointed out gets done, and that is a big if, all that 343 would be accomplishing is bringing halo to a standard that was already done 10 years ago. They haven't improved on anything or reimagined anything. Sad

[@hungryyellow2119]

That's why the shattered glass analogy works so well. The glass had been great for years, then 343i shattered it and continues to hand us shards when they should have maintained the glass it filled it with liquid gold.

[@spaceduck2130]

#fire343

[@2kdavv]

Very good video, also what i find wild is how that point you made about Challenge based unlocks similar to vidmasters is something they already do for MCC, there's seasonal skins unlocked via challenges that would take you a while to complete, one example being the Evocati's Edge energy sword skin. not at all ready to give up on the game though

[@gabriellim1]

Great video once again. really agree with yr points - especially your views about the sandbox. While its not the only issue with it, the overpowered nature of the AR has really been encouraging a lot of unhealthy playstyles in Infinite. Have noticed a vast majority of players i encounter almost completely rely on it for whole matches, forgoing precision weapons entirely

[@kapthas59]

The real problem is lack of map divesity encouraging long range weapons in arena. Ar is fine. It does want it is supposed to do, good at close to mid range bullet weapon. But most maps fight areas are close to mid range, favouring ar, sidekick, mangler, bulldog, heatwave, needler and sentinel beam. We just need maps with focus on long range.

[@Garbear0119]

The glass analogy was really damn good, wtf

[@MysteriousStranger95]

I have no hope left that 343 is competent enough to make a halo game, give the IP over to ID software. 343 has been added to the list of publishers I will never play.

[@TheJoviLovi]

Cope my G

[@HAL-mg4wy]

@@TheJoviLovi You're the one coping thinking this game can be saved clown.

[@EskChan19]

343 is a dev, Microsoft is the publisher.

[@sonictrain1]

It's so wild to think that 343 has been in charge of this ip for over a decade... And have dropped the ball every single time LMFAOOO

[@WakeUpUniverse66]

Very true and i couldnt agree more. Combined with this and the terrible looking TV show i think my favorite franchise is now doing death rolls.

[@OperationSomnus094]

the fact that your video has more views than the steam population, shows the desire people have for the game to be fixed

[@dinobellstien6342]

I give up on this series. I give up on Halo. I hate to say it but I mean what are we doing anymore? I’ve been such a huge fan since I was a kid, and here we are now, with amazing videos like this asking 343 for the bare minimum. A decent social system such as pre game lobbies, service records. These are literally the least we could be asking for. This is expected. Fuck I mean the lack of it was a huge criticism in 5 and 343 just ignored it. Countless Halo creators have made these videos for years, literally years. Act Man, Favyn, Late Night. Millions of combined views, and still 343 refuses to listen. And you know what? Right back at you 343. Other games and developers deserve my time. You have failed me and countless literally lifelong fans.

[@oversizedlegalfees7351]

Loyalty can be a tragic flaw

[@doomsdaylamb5226]

343 translation: Go on vacation

[@samuel-sevenstophost6642]

Good to see you uploading more!! I know you've been loving elden ring (as have I!) So I hope you make a video on elden ring!

[@limonbattery]

I expect Favyn to eventually make an open world video comparing how Halo and Soulsborne have adapted to it in Infinite and Elden Ring respectively. Most likely will go a lot into why Elden Ring works better than Infinite there even if not perfect.

[@NFS0038]

@@limonbattery the only real problems with elden ring's open world transition creep in with multiplayer. The actual mechanical implementation is awesome, they're just really big dark souls levels. But Halo Infinite isn't just really big Halo levels, they added industry standard busywork, and traversal mechanics that the map clearly wasn't designed for (the vehicles feel restricted while the grapple hook breaks the entire world layout and allows you to skip everything).

[@joeykeenanmusic]

Your videos are literally my thoughts on the game. Thank you for your input it’s highly respected.

[@ModeratelyJoe]

Too little too late nothing will bring it back. All my real life friends are casual gamers they played Infinite for about a week or so when it was out, none of them still have it installed, and I seldom play it. Much like Cyberpunk or the Master Chief Collection, first impressions matter. This stuff needed to be there day one.

[@spits61494]

Good analogy about the glass cup

[@fahadsyed3861]

Literally any game would benefit from releasing a massive amount of content to 'soft relaunch' it. The problem is the logistics of accomplishing that. If 343 can barely squeeze out two maps and a few game modes within 6 months, how can they expect to be able to get forge, a service record, infection, and all the things you mentioned out at the same time? We don't see what's going on in their studio. I'm sure they would love to launch all those things at once but they're probably suffering from contractor-induced-turnover that is causing understaffing of critical developers, tool issues that are slowing down how fast things can be released, and mismanagement from their leadership that's leaving a lot of the team in the dark. Every studio suffers from that to some extent, but until those issues get ironed out, the amount of content you're talking about is just infeasible. 343 definitely didn't structure themselves or invest in the right processes and technology to sustain a live service game, which means they need to pay that debt down now. We're likely seeing a trickling of content because in the backend, 343 is prioritizing 'internal improvements' like the tools that test new changes, et cetera. I feel pretty confident in saying that, because I'm a software engineer and the same situation happened to us. We grew at a rate that was not sustainable for us, and we had to spend 3/4s of a year just updating our own tools and systems so we could support what we built and start making new changes again.

[@r4wkst4r]

Thanks for making this Favyn. I agree 10000%. We all desperately want this game to be successful. It's like these head Devs didn't even experience the peak Halo days to know how to make Halo, Halo.

[@zavagezealot1187]

Almost everything that could be wrong with a game is wrong with this game. Honestly, halo infinite is toast. The game is so fundamentally broken, I don't think it would be able to support 10 years. 343 should start over from scratch like they had claimed to do for infinite. Make a new engine. Use Unreal as their engine so they have a stable engine and can add stuff to the game without breaking it. Keep artsyle and gameplay the same. It may take them another 6 years, but maybe by then people will have forgotten about halo infinite like they did 5.

[@DuDe3810]

I love how you're not just outright negative on infinite, but you're realistic, critical, and hard on both the game and 343. Too many people are overly optimistic about the game, and just won't face reality.

[@AnnisAdventures]

Haven’t watched the entire video yet but just wanted to add that Halo Infinite’s campaign doesn’t quiet progress the story all that far and fills in very little time in the universe. I mean 6 months freaking pass and they skip a lot of the world-building/explaining that should come with such a large gap in time, and on the same note what they do mention about it is that literally almost nothing happened. In normal warfare where battles are won and lost within days or weeks, especially involving such scale, this is BS. I’m a writer and I have a kind of fanfic of halo that closely follows but does not alter the main storyline. I’ve been waiting for infinite so I can progress my own story. But my dudes leave so much out and up to speculation that I’m not sure I can. We have no idea about the state of the universe, except that somehow the Infinity failed horribly in fending off the Brute’s attack and is now destroyed I think? Not to mention it’s kind of a forgettable story.

[@cadeconville1563]

Definitely agree it needs a splash. Social features, forge, more game modes, and yes a Battle Royale. People can say what they want. They can say that Halo doesn’t need one. But they’re shortsighted and living in the past. Halo revolutionized the arena shooter, it can revolutionize the BR genre as well.

[@kivinrepoio]

Tactical br that revolutionize the market would bring a lot of gamers

[@Vashkey]

I agree that the only thing that will bring Infinite back to relevance is a massive relaunch. I don't believe it will happen. Like you said, the foundation isnt strong enough. I know people like to shit on Unreal engine but at this point I think they should just dump what they have and use Unreal for the next game. It's just a lot easier to work with... If there's a next game. Thing is, I don't think Microsoft cares or has much incentive to care. Just look at Sea of Thieves. Microsoft is now in a habit of just launching barebones live service games and drip feeding them content. Thanks to game pass and free to play, no matter how mediocre the game is there will be a big enough profit on who is left playing that they can continue on with it for years at the pace their at. Microsoft already got their big launch numbers to flaunt and the undeserved high metacritic score. At the face of it, Halo Infinite was a big success and that's all they need to look good to the general consumer. Only the hardcore Halo fans care and will complain. Now that Microsoft is buying Activision they will have Call of Duty. They own Doom, Quake, Gears of War and Wolfenstein. Theyre in the middle of making a new Perfect Dark. The reality is, Microsoft doesn't really need Halo anymore. I suspect that after all the constant struggling Halo has endured and the declining relevance of franchise that they will comfortably bench the series for a while. Frankly, I don't believe Microsoft can ever treat Halo right. Reach and 4 might have been slip ups but they were at least respectable. But everything since MCC has been a disaster in some form or another. I'm just glad I didn't actually buy Infinite and had set my expectations properly.

[@hungjurysr425]

What made Doom 2016 customization so cool wasn't just the level of detail, but that I also had to go and work for it. I liked winning 25 matches to get those cool shoulders. I loved dealing 3000 damage with a weapon in order to get my colors. Fashion should be the endgame because it shows dedication and skill

[@JimHalpertFromTheOffice]

343 is a sinking ship, and it's only a matter of time before it and the Halo franchise are at the bottom of the ocean.

[@spaceduck2130]

Just imagine how the game would have turned out to be back in 2020 before the backlash. I don't want to know.

[@KnucklesWTD]

Already is

[@TheJoviLovi]

@@KnucklesWTD 🤔

[@tateevans7604]

Spot on Favyn. I had a group of 12 people from the Halo 3/Reach days all get Infinite, yet we all stopped playing within a month of launch. Common grievances included gameplay, progression (or lack there of), and most often lack of content. There just isn't anything to do but play together in 4 stack after 4 stack doing the same modes and maps just to complete the same tired challenges over and over again. I really want to love Halo again, but without a dire fix I'm not sure if Halo infinite can be the game to do that.

[@FredB2332]

343 has some job openings, you should legit apply. Get at least one person in there who knows what they are doing and has a feel for the community's needs.

[@HAvOKn255andtoxic]

I hope we all come together to save this game. Infinite is awesome but seeing how it can be so much better with basic things that we’ve had in game 15 years ago makes me tear up. I keep myself up at night too trying to figure out why these people who create the game can be proud of this. With just the ideas I have alone I could change this and I know all of you can too. We need to work together and start voicing our opinions like Favyn is doing.

[@BestintheWest25]

Can’t save something that’s already dead.

[@pesmobilehighlights-ll9pe]

For me, I have been defending this game constantly in my mind, saying to myself that it isn't as bad as people say, but you know, the truth isn't always a pat in the back, while a voice saying: it's okay, it'll be fine. The Truth sometimes is a slap to the back of the head, and someone shouting, Wake up!!! I can genuinely say that despite all of the cons this game has, I like halo infinite, but my God does this game have a hill to climb, all I can do is wish it luck, I'll be there to witness it's fall or its resurgence. Good vid.

[@chrisl1444]

Don't you love in all these Halo Infinite clip videos, they're always using Halo 1, 2, or 3 music. Lmfao. Never infinite music. Why? Well, it speaks for itself.

[@Windjammer19]

Really hope Favyn keeps playing "Heavy Price Paid" over these videos until Infinite is in a solid state.

[@MrSolidsnake293]

You expect me to wait until 343 feels like actually making halo? Respectfully NO! 343 has had their chance 3 times now to make halo correctly and I wont wait for 343 or Microsoft a single game more. 343 and Microsoft have failed and waiting for them to finish is just a waste of time and energy, I don't get paid to fix a multimillion dollar failure.

[@Wernissage]

Get this man a job at 343. Two maps aren’t enough, we need something BIG. So even though it sucks to wait, I’m willing to wait until they’ve actually made a full game.

[@BLACest1990]

I loved halo. When I was in high school I used to play for close to 6 hours a day. I loved this series. However, reach was the worst thing that ever happened to this series. Bungie was looking to experiment with the series because they were already leaving. It has been downhill ever since. The people who stayed around for reach started dominating the way that halo was played. What they didn’t understand is the people who truly loved the series left. They thought if we leave we will show them that this way of playing halo isn’t fun. It backfired and now we have 343 owning the series and they have no idea how to handle this. Honestly. It’s over this game needs to die before it is destroyed and changed completely. It’s funny because bungie has moved on. They don’t care anymore. They just released a new dlc for the other game they have been working on for close to 10 years. I used to think we could fix halo but I have given up. I also truly do blame 343. I have heard people say awww it’s the executives but at the end of the day 343 is putting out the game. They need to have backbone. And that is where the problem lies. 343 thinks nothing is wrong and how can you fix someone who thinks they are perfect. You can’t. I love your channel and have been a fan since you only had 10000 followers. Cheers man.

[@xx_amongus_xx6987]

There definitely needs to be free unlocks, and I find it silly how 343 and some fans don't think so. One of the consistent top multiplayer games on steam is Apex Legends, which is free to play and has a lot of skins to unlock for just playing the game. Idk what it is now but it was #1 on the steam charts for a while

[@ItsWildT]

You’re my dad

[@CaptainDV]

One of the main fundamental issues of how 343 and a Microsoft are approaching Halo right now, is that the things that are being added, like modes, armors, co-op, player career progression, and forge, aren't things that are supposed to be added post launch. These are bare minimum key features that halo has always had. 343 for the past 10 years has continuously ignored the fans they have and refused to do the work necessary to fix mistakes. Instead of doing what fans want, they have instead tried to change halo in ways that would appeal to a broader audience. But I have always been confused about this because halo had one of the biggest audiences of all when it comes to xbox. I think it's likely that Microsoft originally tasked 343 with continuing the Halo franchise for the sole purpose of expanding the ip, and bringing in more players and more money. They however failed to realize that this was not necessary due to how many fans of halo there were.