Halo Infinite needs to show "noteworthy improvements" in "quality", admits 343 Industries
"I'm very happy with the progress we've made and looking forward to Season 5 later this year."
Halo developer 343 Industries has acknowledged that Halo Infinite "struggled" to provide a "consistent pipeline of new content for players", saying it needs to "start showing more noteworthy improvements" when it comes to the shooter's "technical and experiential quality".
In an interview with Xbox Wire, head of live Service Sean Baron reflected on the sci-fi shooter's first year, and confirmed that "the cadence of content" will continue to be "improved" going forward.
"Season 4 is very exciting for me because it'll mark the third straight on-time release for the Halo Infinite Live Service team,” says Baron. "You know the saying: 'Once is chance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is a pattern'.
"I think that’s where we are now – we’re seeing the outcome of the focus on consistency. And I couldn’t be more excited for the team getting there. We still have plenty of room to improve – we’ll always be working to find new ways of improving and ensuring the predictability of the service. But I’m very happy with the progress we've made there and looking forward to making it four in a row with Season 5 later this year."
The "four in a row" pertains to Season 4, which ushered forth not just the eagerly-anticipated Infection mode, but also a new Career Rank system, new maps, and new equipment.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, 343i reckons "now is the perfect time to jump back into Halo Infinite if you’ve been away".
As for what's next?
'When I think generally about the trajectory of Halo Infinite, it all comes back to our Player Experience Goals of Consistency, Satisfaction, and Quality," Baron adds. "We'll maintain that focus on Consistency. Like I said, I think there is clear evidence of improvement there. Same with Satisfaction: we'll continue layering on the features and experiences players want.
"Where we need to start showing more noteworthy improvements is with Quality. Both technical and experiential Quality. My hope is that over the next few releases and updates we'll start seeing Quality make the same types of jumps that we've seen with Consistency and Satisfaction."
343 Industries also recently shared more information about Career Rank, Halo Infinite's previously teased new progression system, ahead of its Season 4 arrival on 20th June.
Career Rank is described as a "larger progression system" that reflects players' time across the entirety of Halo Infinite's multiplayer modes, and is said to be similar to the progression systems found in Halo: Reach and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.