I'm not underestimating them, I just don't think it's enough to make up for something like $100 million in gross sales. But, as you point out, there are certainly benefits to that income beyond pure dollar amounts, such as the fact that it doesn't rely on external distribution, it's lower-cost content with higher returns that traditional DLC, and that it's probably a steadier source of income versus the usual long-term dropoff in sales. I'm certainly not concerned about Halo as a franchise.
Plus, I don't think I've actually seen that many people really upset with the system (aside from the emblem walls and the RNG factors.) 343 managed to make an unbalanced multiplayer system feel fair and not pay-to-win. That means they can probably expand the system in future installments without worrying about alienating the core group of people who are generally going to always buy a Halo game.
( I already had everything else)
