Thus far, 2024 has shown to be a big shift for Halo as a whole. One of the biggest adjustments is Operations. Rather than the traditional, live-service, seasonal structure, 343 Industries has now transitioned to this new form of continual in-game content. As of January 20th, this move has went on to feature new additions to Halo Infinite including the Halo Wars-themed ‘Spirit of Fire’ event.
Additionally, the ongoing experience is refocusing on its arena experience according to recent reports. In that, the previously rumored battle royale project developed by Certain Affinity has been completely shelved after years of being in development. Even more, findings on LinkedIn reveals development has already began on the next Halo title as well as of 2022.
What surprises players even more is a new development this week. In a thread on X, former 343 Industries employee Kevin Schmitt, the once lead designer reveals that there were more than two dozen titles in mind for the series, but got shot down by leadership over the course of his time at the studio. According to his LinkedIn, Schmitt worked at the team from 2011 until 2023.
From the thread that initiated Schmitt’s response revealing the subject matter, it does indicate that he was referring to at least one of the game’s being a successor to Halo 3: ODST. But even more, his post does reveal that 343 Industries did want to explore other genres and stories that did not align with what Xbox had in mind. This comes at a time that a very similar experience is climbing the popularity ladder on Steam.
Recently, Sony Interactive Entertainment published Helldivers 2. The game quickly became the most-played PlayStation PC title on the platform. In a new development, Helldivers 2 went on to outpace both Starfield & Destiny 2 concurrent players on the platform. You can read the full report by heading here.
Are you shocked by this new update on Halo?
