Ah Yes, The Classic Free-to-Play Grind Takes its Toll Once More
Right out of the gate, Halo: Infinite seems to be stumbling a bit. Players are in love with the gameplay, but there’s a problem: the in-game progression system feels too slow and cumbersome for many, and if it’s not fixed, long-term retention could suffer. A recent tweet shows that 343 Industries is aware of the complaints, and looking for feedback:
Thank you to everyone who has jumped into the #HaloInfintie beta so far! FYI the team is looking at Battle Pass progression and gathering data from yesterday’s sessions and we’ll share updates as we have them. Please continue to share feedback and raise flags as you see them. 1/3
— Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) November 16, 2021
The tweet chain continues by offering a few avenues for people to get their voices heard, and a thank you to all those who’ve supported the effort to change the game. It’s an appreciated response, if a bit on the standard side. In the mind of frustrated players, it reads less like a genuine response and more like a canned, prewritten message. Those frustrations can be seen across the internet, though a reddit commenter may have put it best:
“Its nice to see them respond like this to the progression complaints, but people did bring these issues up during the flights as well. I guess the rather visceral reaction people are having to the progression system, and the fact its being picked up by various game news sites is making it very clear where people stand on this issue. Which is a shame because the game otherwise is absolutely great for the most part. But going on a tear in a match, and not getting any XP for it because none of the challenges you had were relevant/met does not feel good at all.”
If these were known issues that 343 Industries refused to address, even after the various test fights the game went through, it’s easy to see why a response like this might fall on deaf ears. Many players feel like they’ve taken these avenues already and made their opinion known – the problem is that 343 doesn’t seem interested in acting on that feedback. This is far from the first time that Halo fans vocalized their distaste for something, and on many of those coactions, that tide of dissatisfaction ended up changing the game. Look no further than Halo: Infinite’s art style, deliberately stepping away from Halo 4 and 5 and echoing the Bungie-era games instead. With any luck, we could see a similar response here if enough voices join the chorus – but for now, all we can do is cross out fingers.