That’s it, we’re here: Today, after an endless wait, the Halo Infinite single player campaign will finally be available. But the adventure wasn’t easy for the developers.
The formula is now known: Jason Schreier, who is always very well informed, accompanied by journalist Dina Bass, today reveals behind the scenes of the development of Halo Infinite in a new newspaper article from the newspaper Bloomberg.
Sir, quit this game
You already know a good part of the story: After Microsoft had sold the return of the Master Chief as “a steamroller”, Microsoft had to wipe off the plaster of the demo presented far too early in the summer of 2020. The scriptwriter of the first three episodes was then called to the rescue, and it is therefore Joseph Staten who advocated postponing the start of Halo Infinite:
Staten convinced Microsoft management to give 343 Industries as much time as needed to fix what needed to be fixed. Microsoft viewed Halo Infinite as essential to incentivizing people to buy a new console, but releasing a buggy version could have made gamers bitter. The studio made this mistake before with the 2014 release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Development on Halo Infinite would have started in 2015 after the release of Halo 5, and thinkers would quickly agree on the open-world formula. But the first problems emerge quickly as the developers are forced to grapple with the whims of the engine and the instability of the teams, which are mostly made up of contractors who come and go:
Microsoft prohibits subcontractors from staying at their workplaces for more than 18 months, which is a constant wear and tear on the teams at 343 Industries. Several developers have described the studio as a fiefdomed enterprise, with each team looking for their own resources and making conflicting decisions. One developer describes the process as “developing four to five games at the same time”.
And it goes on and on
In 2019, the decision would have been made to cut two-thirds of the originally planned content, but Microsoft would have wanted to keep the game released at all costs, which would mark the launch of the Xbox Series X | S is slated to bring in November 2020. Only in the sad episode of the first presentation do officials agree to miss the boat so as not to turn Halo Infinite into a disaster.
Despite this launch on December 8th, there will still be a long way to go for the teams at 343 Industries, as alongside the arrival of Cooperative or Horde modes, recent evidence suggests that many updates will underscore the years to come. . At least.
