Halo Infinite has scrapped its story-driven seasonal cutscenes. The news comes after significant lay-offs at developer 343 Industries earlier this year.
In a tweet, below, community director Brian Jarrard explained 343 made the “trade-off” to make further gameplay improvements instead of new story content for Halo Infinite.
“As we’ve refined our top priorities and shifted resources internally this year, we had to make the decision to forego seasonal narrative cutscenes to make room for the team to continue focusing on highly requested features, content, and improvements for Halo Infinite,” he said.
PSA: As we’ve refined our top priorities and shifted resources internally this year, we had to make the decision to forego seasonal narrative cutscenes to make room for the team to continue focusing on highly requested features, content, and improvements for Halo Infinite.
These…
— Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) June 19, 2023
“These trade-offs are never easy to make, and we truly appreciate your support as the team works to make Halo Infinite the best experience possible,” Jarrard added. “While the job is far from over, Season 4 marks another big step forward and we remain committed to this journey with the Halo community.”
The mention of “shifted resources” may refer to the lay-offs that affected 343 earlier this year and saw Halo Infinite director Joseph Staten leave the developer. And while prioritising gameplay has been heralded by some community members in Jarrard’s replies, some who enjoy Halo’s story were left feeling upset over that part of the two-decade old franchise being left behind.
343 was forced to clarify that “Halo and Master Chief are here to stay” following the lay-offs, saying it “will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great”. 343 is reportedly working on a new Halo project, codenamed Tatanka, built on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine rather than the in-house Slipspace engine.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.