Infinite’s Time on Xbox and Steam Top Charts was Short Lived as Player Base Keeps on Decreasing

When one remembers the Golden Age of shooters on consoles, everyone remembers the hit that was Halo. 343 Industries’ Halo was an instant hit that catapulted the series into being the best thing in that genre. I remember waiting eagerly for the next installment of Master Chief’s adventures and the fight against the Flood and the Covenant.

It has been two months since Halo: Infinite debuted, with stellar reviews and a lot of talk about it being a “return to its roots” for the series. However, Infinite has struggled to retain players past the initial launch period. Within it’s first six-month season, Infinite has dropped out of the ranks for both XBOX and Steam.

Despite being available on the Xbox Game Pass and the multiplayer component is free for all users, Halo: Infinite is not in the Top 5 of XBOX’s most played list and doesn’t look like it can beat any of its contenders like COD: Modern Warfare, Fortnite or GTA V.

Halo: Infinite also sits snugly at #57 on Steam’s Popularity chart, with fluctuating player-ship and reviews. Even during peak gaming hours, the ratings don’t improve much.

But why is it so? How could a much-loved franchise loose its dedicated player base?

Somewhere along the way, things just didn’t work anymore.

Halo: Infinite has faced a huge number of issues, particularly with regards to its multiplayer aspect. Scores of players were turned off with microtransaction pricing and battle pass progression, there were reports of cheaters on PC furthered this drive away from the game. The multiplayer Quick Play wasn’t enjoyable either, with reports that players are purposefully tanking games in that mode to get easier matches in ranked, screwing up the entire experience for other, lesser ranked players.

The Open-World aspect of the main game’s story can seem off-putting for most players. The franchise is known for its linear storytelling and missions, but this has been passed over for a more open form of exploration. Infinite switched up the formula and was offering players a chance to explore a massive Halo installation ring (called Zeta). Players can take on the story and side-missions in whichever order they choose, giving complete freedom over their experience. However, exploration became a tad tedious with repetitive locations and puzzle solving. While the overall world design is beautiful and distinct, there are definitely times when enemy bases look the same.

Additionally, Halo: Infinite decided to just drop the main questline from its previous games and instead jumps forward 18 months, explaining away the conflict with Cortana and the AIs off-screen. This time jump was extremely anti-climatic and borderline annoying. It is not understood why 343 decided to take this route with the story, but it’s been proven to be a mistake as it left the majority of Halo’s fanbase confused and indifferent to the franchise’s continuation. Do we understand the magnitude of the Forerunner plotline? Will it be taken forward? Who knows?

It’s been six years since Halo 5: Guardians released and revamped the franchise by pushing it forward with new characters, weapons and villains. It wasn’t what gamers expected at the time, it was bold. Now, 343 has sidelined that for a game that is a reminder of what made people fall in love with Halo in the first place. Halo: Infinite accomplishes its goal of being a spiritual reboot in that regard, but much of it is spoiled by problems that should’ve been overlooked.