Halo Infinite & the Future of Master Chief

Today Microsoft kicked off their E3 showcase by coming out of the gates swinging. As we sat there, under the assumption there were showing a new game engine, something triggered in me. Although there were light-forged deer and rino-sauruses, I kept thinking: “This feels strangely familiar.” Then it unfolds to reveal the UNSC Marines and a zoom to show Master Chief holding his helmet. I knew I was home.

Microsoft opened their E3 2018 Briefing with a tease of Halo Infinite. The teaser focused heavily on their accomplishments with the new “Slipspace Engine”, which the new game will utilize. As far as actual game details for Halo Infinite, it may be some time before we learn more about what is in store for Halo fans. However, that last shot of Master Chief loading what we assume is Cortana into his helmet is giving us all life.

If we want to know where the franchise is heading we have to do some digging in its past. Specifically, the missteps of Halo 5.

What Can We Expect?

Two Things have been made clear by the Halo community: We want to play as Master Chief, and we want split-screen.

Halo 5 was the first in the series to forgo split-screen. A feature that, no doubt, helped make the series a home brand. This was a huge disappointment to fans, myself included, as we come from a generation of couch co-op. Which I detailed in my gaming article last week.

Bonnie Ross, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, stated that the dropping of split-screen was “…incredibly painful for the community and for us”. She went on to assure us that all future 343 first-person shooters will include split-screen functions.

There was also a huge expectation faux pa that came along with Halo 5. Marketed as a half and half game, the truth is you only play as Chief in three of the fifteen available missions.

An article posted by Alessio Palumbo quoted the head of 343 Industries, Frank O’Connor, saying:

“…for some fans and certainly fans of Master Chief, [Halo 5] was a huge disappointment because they wanted more Chief.”

With both Ross and O’Connor addressing community concerns so openly, we can all sleep a little easier at night. We at least that split screen and a Chief-centric story are most likely returning when Halo Infinite hits consoles. Which most likely it won’t be anytime soon.

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