After the recent cancelation of Halo Infinite's couch co-op mode, fans are beginning to question whether 343 Industries is cut out to manage the franchise. This doubt is not a new thing as 343 Industries has seemed to struggle to find a direction for Microsoft's flagship FPS franchise ever since it was handed the reins. After three Halo games that did not meet the heights of the original trilogy, many fans believe that Halo should be handed off to someone else.
343 Industries took over the Halo franchise after Bungie announced that it was going to be splitting off from Microsoft. 343 Industries attempted to kickstart a new era of Halo, but many fans are not onboard with this new direction. Instead, many have chosen to continue playing the games that made the series so popular. The future of Halo is uncertain, but many players seek a future without 343 Industries.
343 Industries Has Struggled to Pick a Direction for Halo
Halo: Combat Evolved kicked off the franchise and put players in the shoes of Master Chief as he fought to stop the Covenant from activating the powerful Halo ring. Halo 2 continued the tale of Master Chief and expanded the world of Halo significantly with the introduction of characters like the Arbiter, and Halo 3 capped off the original trilogy with a high-stakes finale that saw the end of the Human-Covenant war. Bungie returned for a prequel story with Halo Reach that followed brand-new characters, and then the studio bowed out to create Destiny.
343 Industries stepped in to continue the story of Bungie's world with the Reclaimer saga. Halo 4 saw Master Chief fight back against a new Covenant splinter group and the brand-new Prometheans. The story was well received, but many believed that it was not on par with the storytelling of Bungie. On top of that, 343 made the controversial choice of removing Firefight in favor of Spartan Ops.
Halo 5: Guardians was 343's second attempt at a Halo game, and it proved very divisive within the community. The game continued the story of Halo 4, except it took it in a whole new direction. Players experienced a campaign from two perspectives that saw the new Fireteam Osiris hunting down Master Chief and his Blue Team. Many critics felt like the campaign took a step backwards and was a far cry from what players had come to expect from Halo. The multiplayer was also vastly different from everything that had come before with the introduction of Warzone and REQ packs.
Halo Infinite was supposed to be the next big leap for the franchise, but so far, it has not panned out. The campaign went for a more open-world approach, but it seemed to have thrown out much of the other two games as it introduced a brand-new adversary and skipped a lot of events that dealt with the aftermath of Halo 5. The multiplayer was also supposed to be a return to form for the franchise, but was lacking content for a lot of players.
343 Industries has made decent Halo games, but each title seems very different from the last. The stories do not always flow into each other and the gameplay can be vastly different. It feels like 343 does not know what it wants to do with the Halo franchise, and the cancelation of promised features only drum up more controversy for its handling of the franchise.
Halo Infinite Post-launch Has Been Lackluster
The handling of Halo Infinite and its multiplayer has given 343 Industries a bit of a bad reputation. The multiplayer went free-to-play this time around and was supposed to last awhile, but many players have chosen to go back to The Master Chief Collection instead. It was missing various fan-favorite modes at launch, too, and is marred with a battle pass that is filled with lackluster rewards.
Recently, 343 Industries has also come out saying that the planned couch co-op would not be appearing in Halo Infinite. One of the best parts of Halo games was being able to play with friends from the comfort of the couch, and Halo Infinite was supposed to be getting that feature. The feature has been in almost every single Halo title, but it will not be making an appearance in the latest one.
The cancelation of features, the uncertain direction of the story, and the lack of many staples of Halo have all tarnished the overall brand for many. Players just want to experience the glory days of Halo, and 343 Industries does not seem to be giving them that feeling. 343 Industries needs to right the ship, or fans will continue asking for Microsoft to find someone who can.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S