In another report from Mr. Rebs released on Monday, we got insight into what 343 Industries, now Halo Studios, had planned for Halo Infinite. As with any report like this, it’s worth mentioning that this information is based on sources and is not officially confirmed by Halo Studios or Microsoft.
After covering Project Eker, a potential extraction shooter or solo multiplayer project, Mr. Rebs said he could not confirm the full details at the time.
However, he has since found a former senior animator who described work on an Unreal Engine-based multiplayer project that was already playable as early as last year. The extraction shooter itself, though, has seemingly been canceled, according to a former developer.
Moving onto what Mr. Rebs reports regarding the original plans for Halo Infinite, he states that in 2022, then creative head Joseph Staten held a company-wide Microsoft Teams meeting.
During this, Staten outlined plans for the next Halo campaign and showed off concept art that included Forerunner structures in snowy environments, a lava biome similar to Mustafar from Star Wars, and a brute skiff among large trees.
Mr. Rebs also claims that a Halo Infinite sequel was in development in 2022. Alongside this, he states that plans included a Banished Scarab and characters from the Halo books.
He also claims Halo Infinite was intended to act as a central hub for future Halo games. I must admit, hearing this is I am quite surprised given how rough Halo Infinite’s menus were at launch.
Following the launch of Halo Infinite, 343 Industries reportedly faced mass attrition, with a wave of developers leaving the studio in a relatively short period of time.
At the same time, Microsoft reportedly implemented a hiring freeze ahead of the January 2023 layoffs.
According to Mr. Rebs, this left the team significantly understaffed during a critical post-launch window. As a result, support for Halo Infinite slowed, and the flow of new content dropped off.
It also helps explain why updates during that period were so limited, despite expectations for ongoing live service support. This likely wasn’t helped by a reliance on contract workers, something Bloomberg reported on over four years ago.
Interestingly, Mr. Rebs also claims that internal discussions had already begun around bringing Halo to PlayStation during this timeframe.
This report does explain a lot, and I’d urge people to watch the full video and give Mr. Rebs a follow on both X and YouTube.
I’d also love to hear your thoughts on Halo Infinite and this report. If what Mr. Rebs said is true, it offers an interesting look into the game’s development.
Make sure to let me know in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!
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