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[digoutyoursoul]

Why is Microsoft so incapable of properly handling their major studios? The difference between them and Sony in this regard is just massive.

I’d like to see them investing in new people at the top rather than new studios.

 

[MasterCornholio]

Are they recruiting to put back in the game the content they removed and for which the consumers paid?

I think that's due to Sony buying them. I remember they mentioned it when they announced the acquisition.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

There were lots of rumors, some even saying it was a godawful Overwatch-like Hero Shooter at one point.
A handful of directors left during the project - which is a fact.
Sounds like the core game got scrappped and reworked multiple times.
Just a mess.

What Infinite turned out to be is decent - better than 4 and 5 - mp is fun and as close to classic Halo as its been in 343's tenure - but overall Infinite is far below what it should have been. Again as a huge Halo fan, im not sure what the problem is - the template has been there for 20 years. Just make us some cool Halo shit.

People that are not talented at making games (not all but a good amount) were melded into a studio led by people who didn't like what Halo was when Bungie made it. In addition, any good talent that came through was contract workers so they were in and out relatively quick and made the development process a mess.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

People that are not talented at making games (not all but a good amount)

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Halo didn't deserve this but 343 absolutely does. Halo went from the top dog in the FPS scene to middle of the road at best. Part of the blame lies at Spencer's/Xbox's feet because of how they propped up incompetent management.

 

[Stare-Bear]

Can’t wait for Microsoft to run Bethesda and Activision into the ground

 

[balls of snow]

I have a very strong feeling that 343 are not the only Microsoft studio having severe issues within the company. How have there been so many acquisitions, promises and money spent, yet we can barely get any information or even a screenshot of a game that supposedly been in development for years? The entire gaming division might need restructuring or something because this is getting out of control.

If this 343i slaughterfest was the only thing we heard then I still bank on ms to pump out quality games. But its not just this, its the entire corp focusing on the rotten acti-blizz deal, its the 2022 with no fp AAA , its the rumor Fable and Perfect Dark dev issues, its the leads of Playground games leaving to a startup.
It adds up.

 

[Banjo64]

Can’t wait for Microsoft to run Bethesda and Activision into the ground

It terrifies me that they’ll manhandle Bethesda Game Studios.

 

[64gigabyteram]

Publisher Of the year 2021.
Phil you better hope Starfield gets a 90 metacritic or else it's gonna be Sony Nintendo and valve from here on out.

 

[Ansphn]

I'm calling it right now Friday, January 20th 2023, if the Activision deal does not go through, Xbox will drop out of making gaming consoles this generation and the only thing left will be Microsoft publishing. Yes they will become a 3rd party publisher. You will see Halo, Forza, Starfield and Gears on PlayStation and probably Nintendo (Depending on if the next Nintendo can run these games).

 

[Ansphn]

Double post

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Youtube GVMERS 'Rise and Fall Halo Franchise' video incoming.

From 10-year plan, to Master Chief on the console's box, to Craig reveal, to 1 full year delay, to Free to Play Multiplayer, to campaign coop delay, to Forge delay, to minimal support Multiplayer only.

Quite the shitshow.

And people were damage-controlling all the leaks for troubled development.

I know some are still in denial, but it's over.

Let the IP sleep for 5+ years and dust it off once you figure out how to ship a game.

You forgot to mention the budget Halo show sold to a streaming platform nobody has heard of (Paramount plus).

What were MS thinking, this was their golden i.p 10 years ago.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Can’t wait for Microsoft to run Bethesda and Activision into the ground

the disruption the industry needs.

 

[TheShocker]

sucks to see this happening to my favorite franchise. My guess is the day to day line workers there aren’t the problem. That creepy bald headed fuck Frank O’Connor and the incompetent Kiki Wolfkill drove that series into the ground with Bonnie Ross.

How they have jobs and others were laid off is beyond me. Look through Twitter enough, and past devs at 343i are starting to speak out about the poor upper management there.

Staten leaving should speak volumes about the direction of 343i going forward. I don’t know if anyone that has been as publicly renowned in the community as he has.

 

[.Pennywise]

There was a time where Microsoft had balls and shit holes like 343i would just be closed for good

 

[BootsLoader]

They will announce this officially on Wednesday?

 

[Fox Mulder]

343 was built for halo and given who knows how much money over the years. All while Halo has fallen off in pop culture and gaming. They got praise for fixing the Master Chief Collection like four years after its busted release. Even the Halo tv show ended up pure fucking garbage after like a decade of hype.

These losers should be happy to still have a job.

 

[Kerotan]

and people are scared MS acquisitions will mean Xbox taking over the gaming industry

It's potentially bad for the ips they take over.

 

[Three]

If this 343i slaughterfest was the only thing we heard then I still bank on ms to pump out quality games. But its not just this, its the entire corp focusing on the rotten acti-blizz deal, its the 2022 with no fp AAA , its the rumor Fable and Perfect Dark dev issues, its the leads of Playground games leaving to a startup.
It adds up.

I wouldn't mind if the focus on the acti-blizz deal was about pumping out quality games but if what they are saying is true it's about becoming the next big thing on mobile. I think ultimately they want to pull an apple arcade on mobile via gamepass on mobile. Seems more a focus on getting Diablo Immortal, COD Mobile, Candy Crush etc. The idea of making some multiplatform console games possibly exclusive is just an easy secondary benefit.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/p...on-candy-crush-not-call-of-duty/1100-6509176/

“It’s critical that if you’re trying to run an at-scale global gaming business that you meet your customers where they want to play, and more and more, mobile is the place people want to play.”
"If we’re not able to find customers on phones, on any screen that someone wants to play on, you really are going to get segmented to a niche part of gaming that running a global business will become very challenging.”

I hope for their sake and that of console gaming their 2023 games do well and change their focus. MS is always chasing the mainstream and neglecting the niche. It's happenining with VR, it happened with Kinect, and it happened with TV. Hope they don't neglect the niche chasing the mainstream again.

 

[aries_71]

If this is remotely true, it's deffo time for 343i to be shut down. Roll the talented people into other studios and leave halo alone for 5 to 10 years and blow us away with giving it someone else altogether.

They've had enough chances now.

You know... that would have happened regardless of any layoff. How long did it take to ship Halo Infinity? 6-7 years? Forgetting about some kind of testimonial dlc that would come out, anybody believes 343 would be able to launch an additional Halo during this generation lifespan? No…

 

[truth411]

At this point, I think they should seriously consider a Halo Reboot.

 

[iorek21]

Just hand it to idSoft and call it a day, guaranteed success.

 

[LordCBH]

Can’t wait for Microsoft to run Bethesda and Activision into the ground

To be fair, Bethesda was already being run into the ground BEFORE they got bought. FO4, 76, Skyrim re-release #6483837. I don’t have high hopes for SF just because of how aggressively mediocre fallout 4 was and still is.

 

[Umbasaborne]

Im saddened to think that single player halo is done for the foreseeable future, but after the cut to shit copy and paste travesty that was halo infinites campaign, cant say im shocked.

 

[Philfrag]

Halo needed a Doom style reimagining like 3 games ago. Its a tired series. When I hear that another is coming out I literally get sleepy. It needs to take some time off, maybe a whole generation or 2 to rest up. Its tied too much to its outdated design due to the constraints of its hardcore fanbase and legacy. It needs a complete overhaul, it can no longer compete in the current market, no matter how much you loved halo 2 / 3 multiplayer. The quicker we all realise this the better.

 

[BbMajor7th]

Everyone calling out Spencer for the used car salesman he so obviously is really warms my heart.

 

[FBeeEye]

This needs to happen. 343 needs to just handle TV and merchandise, leave the game development to the pros. Kill the Master Chief. There's so much that can be done with the Universe.

 

[93xfan]

I normally feel bad for this kind of things, but in this case, they were given multiple chances and constantly fail.
Something wasn’t working.

Their only success was to fix the master chief collection after the release. That’s not something to be really proud of.

Really hope that work continues. Absolutely love that collection.

 

[Stuart360]

Even though i actually liked Halo Infinite, both the campaign and MP, i also recognize that 343 are slow as hell with everything they do.

This is the correct decision i feel going forward, and something some poeple have been asking for years.

 

[BossLackey]

Why is Microsoft so incapable of properly handling their major studios? The difference between them and Sony in this regard is just massive.

It really is baffling. It seems like they simply don't know what to do with their studios.

 

[Pop]

I'm calling it right now Friday, January 20th 2023, if the Activision deal does not go through, Xbox will drop out of making gaming consoles this generation and the only thing left will be Microsoft publishing. Yes they will become a 3rd party publisher. You will see Halo, Forza, Starfield and Gears on PlayStation and probably Nintendo (Depending on if the next Nintendo can run these games).

 

[Flutta]

I'm calling it right now Friday, January 20th 2023, if the Activision deal does not go through, Xbox will drop out of making gaming consoles this generation and the only thing left will be Microsoft publishing. Yes they will become a 3rd party publisher. You will see Halo, Forza, Starfield and Gears on PlayStation and probably Nintendo (Depending on if the next Nintendo can run these games).

That would be the best outcome i think.
But that would also lead to ”arrogant sony”, not sure which one is better

Eitherway i don’t think MS will leave the console market anytime soon. They got too much money to burn and Notella seems to be willing to that.

MS should be focusing on making good games for people to enjoy. That’s all they need to do rather then trying to change the whole gaming landscape for their own greedy benefit while at the same time destroying their competition.

 

[gothmog]

It really is baffling. It seems like they simply don't know what to do with their studios.

I think it's more of a cultural problem. Game development studios just do not seem to mesh well with Microsoft's culture.

 

[FBeeEye]

I’d like the Doom team to have a go at it. I’d love third person spin off one day too, like Vanquish by Platinum but in the environment of Halo.

I’d also like Phil to do less talk and more letting the products speak for themselves in a positive sense like Playground has done with Forza Horizon over the years . This year needs to be a good one.

This statement is as outdated as Bill Gates' "We should never need more than 64 kb of RAM".

This was long before Xbox had a powerhouse stable of first party studios. Halo is a relic. They should do like Nintendo does Mario and just release one mainline game per generation. I'm more interested in spin-off stories. A 3rd person ODST spin-off by The Coalition would be awesome. A third person adventure game in the Halo universe would also be pretty cool. Maybe from the perspective of a Sangheli warrior.

 

[emivita]

I'm calling it right now Friday, January 20th 2023, if the Activision deal does not go through, Xbox will drop out of making gaming consoles this generation and the only thing left will be Microsoft publishing. Yes they will become a 3rd party publisher. You will see Halo, Forza, Starfield and Gears on PlayStation and probably Nintendo (Depending on if the next Nintendo can run these games).

Xbox dropping out gaming consoles and only offering Game Pass service is more plausible.

 

[Stuart360]

So MS finally do soemthing that people have asked them to do for years, take 343 off Halo, and now that somehow measn they are leaving the console business?.

 

[DenchDeckard]

So MS finally do soemthing that people have asked them to do for years, take 343 off Halo, and now that somehow measn they are leaving the console business?.

Yup, it means MS are doomed and now 343i matters.......

If they can't even make good DLC for halo they need to just be let go.

Like I said, move every competent employee to other studios and kill 343i off

 

[Stuart360]

Yup, it means MS are doomed and now 343i matters.......

If they can't even make good DLC for halo they need to just be let go.

Like I said, move every competent employee to other studios and kill 343i off

Let me guess, the thread is full of poeple now saying 343 were good devs, and MS 'dont know what they are doing' by taking Halo away from 343?.

 

[BbMajor7th]

Let me guess, the thread is full of poeple now saying 343 were good devs, and MS 'dont know what they are doing' by taking Halo away from 343?.

Nah, it really just reads as confirmation of what has been long rumoured and suspected about the management issues at 343i. The real question is whether it's a single studio issue or a more wide-reaching problem for XGS. Given the evidence of recent years, the latter looks increasingly likely.

 

[Hobbygaming]

Someone make sure @SenjutsuSage is okay

He just sent me this

 

[Salty Popsicle]

I don't understand the doom and gloom sentiment surrounding this news. The entirety of 2022 on this site was filled with threads and comments hoping and praying that the Halo IP would no longer be 343i's responsibility going forward. Now that it seems Microsoft may actually be doing just that, these same people are proclaiming "RIP Halo" and "What is Microsoft doing?". The double-speak is insane.

 

[Roufianos]

I'm calling it right now Friday, January 20th 2023, if the Activision deal does not go through, Xbox will drop out of making gaming consoles this generation and the only thing left will be Microsoft publishing. Yes they will become a 3rd party publisher. You will see Halo, Forza, Starfield and Gears on PlayStation and probably Nintendo (Depending on if the next Nintendo can run these games).

The Xbox Series X/S is their fastest selling console....

 

[6502]

I enjoyed the single player, but it was not worth the money MS spaffed up the wall on it. There was no chance of seeing anything else for another 6 years under 343. Mismanagement would be doubling down on this failure.

Halo can get out of this hole now MS have stopped digging.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

I don't understand the doom and gloom sentiment surrounding this news. The entirety of 2022 on this site was filled with threads and comments hoping and praying that the Halo IP would no longer be 343i's responsibility going forward. Now that it seems Microsoft may actually be doing just that, these same people are proclaiming "RIP Halo" and "What is Microsoft doing?". The double-speak is insane.

A lot of people here are suffering from...

 

[Dibils2k]

what about that ray tracing update

 

[R3claimer117]

Hasn’t this been debunked on Twitter how’s this still going lol. They were never working on any single player dlc.

 

[DragonNCM]

Halo: Infinite had a huge potential with DLC(new story & Bioms) but they blow it losing time making useless battle passes with only money grab mentality in their heads.
Single player game was not that bad....even good I think, but multiplayer was total crap. You can't chose favorite game mod & maps....unbalanced & useless weapons, few maps where actually fun to play,
progress with leveling was damn slugfest & useless rewards (if you didn't buy battlepass).
What they where thinking ? We are sheep's ?

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

343 sucks so bad.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Phil reminds me of a wartime general. You need someone to come in with good ideas and rally the troops so you can right the ship, he's the guy. Which is what he did with Xbox. Shuttered the underperforming studios, brought in some key features and ideas, and bolstered the in-house talent through acquisitions. It feels like his work is done and now its time to hand the keys to someone more equipped to manage what they have, the right way.

Ironic post in a Halo Infinite thread considering the failures of 343 and Infinite all happened under his leadership.

 

[Halo is Back]

I don't understand the doom and gloom sentiment surrounding this news. The entirety of 2022 on this site was filled with threads and comments hoping and praying that the Halo IP would no longer be 343i's responsibility going forward. Now that it seems Microsoft may actually be doing just that, these same people are proclaiming "RIP Halo" and "What is Microsoft doing?". The double-speak is insane.

Taking Halo away from 343 is a good decision, and I will stand my ground on this. Hell, I've been saying this since Halo 5, but no one wanted to face reality.