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[IbizaPocholo]

Yesterday's Halo Infinite gameplay reveal was a 'work in progress,' Microsoft says

Marketing GM Aaron Greenberg said that the release version will be a 'visual showcase.'

www.pcgamer.com

Yesterday's big Halo Infinite reveal did not exactly blow us away. Not that it was bad, but as a centerpiece for a big, E3-style game show, it felt lacking—"toothless," as Steven put it. Aside from looking like a very safe, conventional Halo game (which, again, is not a bad thing if that's what you're after), it really just wasn't the visual firecracker we were expecting.

That impression was reinforced by this actual, official, bad screenshot: It may be honest, but it's not the sort of thing that comes off as a big flex from an upcoming new generation of console hardware. The reason for that, Xbox Games marketing general manager Aaron Greenberg said in an interview with Inside Gaming, is that it's not done yet.

"We're in the middle of a global pandemic. It's July, we're far from holiday [season]. You're seeing a work in progress game. You probably watched the stream in 1080p, maybe, so we have put up a 4K60 on-demand stream. So people, I'd say, go back to look at the game in 4K60. We did that deliberately. It's very hard to show the full power and graphic fidelity of what Xbox Series X will be able to deliver for you over a stream," Greenberg says in a segment starting at 16:25.

"It is a work in progress. What you're seeing today—and I can tell you, because we see build check-ins every week, and they make progress week after week—so between now and holiday, it's just going to get better and better."

Halo fans may be happy to hear it, but I have to wonder why, when it's unveiling one of its flagship games at its biggest game showcase of the year, Microsoft and 343 couldn't come up with something better than an everyday "work in progress" slice of something that looks like it could run on current-gen hardware. And if it really just could not make it happen, why wasn't more attention drawn to that fact up front? Setting expectations in advance is a lot easier and more effective than cleaning up disappointment after the fact.

Greenberg also said that Halo Infinite will be a "visual showcase" at launch, which is a risky promise to make. Very generously, you could say that the reveal was a way of managing expectations: It's Halo, it's fun, if you want your eyes to bleed then go play Crysis. But now our eyes are turned skyward again, which means an even bigger letdown if what we saw ultimately turns out to be what we get.

 

[DeepEnigma]

It’s not the resolution Aaron, it’s the assets, low polys, physics, and everything else the XB1.31TF is showing to be prevalent still.

 

[Bonfires Down]

 

[Rossco EZ]

#XGonGiveItToYa

 

[Explosive Zombie]

No one forced them to do this. They made a choice to reveal the game to you now in the state it's in. Other games have done this but you might notice that usually when they do the demo itself tells you it's not completed footage in as a work in progress what did Halo infinite do that? no in fact they tried saying it was representative of what the series X quality would be since it wasn't actually running on one.

 

[Mobile Suit Gooch]

Whelp

 

[AgentP]

Ya, I'm sure they will start working on the final models and textures soon, plenty of time. Meanwhile every other game released looks more or less identical two years before release (TLoU2, GoT, etc.).

 

[FunkMiller]

If you’re saying that your biggest franchise - that’s supposed to launch a new console in FOUR MONTHS - is still a work in progress, you are up shit creek without a teraflop.

 

[hyperbertha]

Who believes this retard anymore? Both him and Lie dispencer have been misleading and hiding things from their own fanbase for half a decade now.

 

[Caffeine]

uh huh
https://www.343industries.com/news/articles/employee-spotlight-ani-shastry

But while it’s easy to get carried away about the prospect of playing Halo Infinite, it’s worth taking a minute to think about the enormous work put into this playable preview of Halo Infinite.
While this is just a section of the final game, it took a herculean effort to make sure this little corner of our Ringworld was polished and pretty enough for its premiere!
The art, lighting, design, environment, graphics, production and engineering teams involved in carving out and curating this little slice, are nervous and excited to show people a glimpse of what we’re building.

 

[Vawn]

Well, didn't they say this will be the only Halo game for the next ten plus years?

He could be right, in that it's a work in progress. The problem is if they're going the GaaS route, it could stay a work in progress for years after it releases.

Unless I'm missing something, this seems to be Xbox's plan and it all has to do with GamePass. The majority of their games will be smaller AA stuff like Grounded, etc. These games will be used to round out the quantity of GP games and don't need to be at the $60 AAA retail quality.

Instead of having a bunch of huge AAA games, they'll instead have their big franchises turn into single games, that they'll update for years as they go along and survive off of microtransactions, paid expansions and GamePass subscriptions.

Maybe I'm reading it too much, but everything I've seen seems to point to this. The new Forza is simply called "Forza Motorsport". To me, that sounds like it will just be one game and built and updated over the lifetime of Series X. Halo Infinite has already been stated to be the same.

The rumors are the new Fable, simply called "Fable" will either be a full MMO or a GaaS with MMO elements.

I'd expect the other games (Gears) planned to be following this plan as well.

 

[INC]

 

[Tesseract]

no shit

 

[JTCx]

uh huh
https://www.343industries.com/news/articles/employee-spotlight-ani-shastry

Herculean effort

 

[DeepEnigma]

Herculean effort

 

[the_master]

Ah this interviews feom youtubers that are there just to praise the interviewee.

 

[Tulipanzo]

We could tell Aaron, that's kind of the problem

 

[TheMay30thMan]

Maybe they’re trying something new. Where instead of showing clear downgrades on launch, they show massive upgrades?

...lmao

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

Lying bastard

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

#ByeByeAaron

He's gotta go. Wouldn't necessarily miss Matt Booty, either. MUCH rather'd have Seamus Blackely and J.Allard back there with Xbox.

 

[pesaddict]

Fuck this fat cadburys cream egg looking morher fucker

 

[Max_Po]

I legitimately hate this guy. Needs to be fired asap to save the xbox brand

 

[Caffeine]

ye idk why Aaron is still there. He seems to always be on some kind of other page then whats actually occurring and just shows up to events to hang out.

 

[the_master]

I feel sad for the team. Hundreds of good professionals that now are getting the backlash.
They do state that the team made a big effort to polish that corner, so no, it is not a very old build. Maybe 1 or 2 months, nothing significant. the rest of the game must be very very rough.
I guess they'll need to do a lot of overtime and will have to ship an undinished product.
I wish things had turned out better for the game, but also for the devs.

If any 343 dev reads this: I wish you the best of luck, good work and smart choices. Hang in there and I hope that the game is a great success in the end!!!

 

[Klayzer]

Well, didn't they say this will be the only Halo game for the next ten plus years?

He could be right, in that it's a work in progress. The problem is if they're going the GaaS route, it could stay a work in progress for years after it releases.

Unless I'm missing something, this seems to be Xbox's plan and it all has to do with GamePass. The majority of their games will be smaller AA stuff like Grounded, etc. These games will be used to round out the quantity of GP games and don't need to be at the $60 AAA retail quality.

Instead of having a bunch of huge AAA games, they'll instead have their big franchises turn into single games, that they'll update for years as they go along and survive off of microtransactions, paid expansions and GamePass subscriptions.

Maybe I'm reading it too much, but everything I've seen seems to point to this. The new Forza is simply called "Forza Motorsport". To me, that sounds like it will just be one game and built and updated over the lifetime of Series X. Halo Infinite has already been stated to be the same.

The rumors are the new Fable, simply called "Fable" will either be a full MMO or a GaaS with MMO elements.

I'd expect the other games (Gears) planned to be following this plan as well.

Man, I hope to god this doesn't happen. Their three top franchises turned into live service games, the backlash would be equal to supernova (and not the good one either). Dont fuckin do it Microsoft. The company is worth a trillion dollars, pay the price early, and the rewards from your fandom will come. Cheap out and many will check out.

 

[Vawn]

The company is worth a trillion dollars, pay the price early, and the rewards from your fandom will come. Cheap out and many will check out.

That's never mattered. Xbox is a blip of the company of Microsoft as a whole. They're not ever going to take huge risks for Xbox. They've demonstrated this time and again for 20 years.

 

[Klayzer]

That's never mattered. Xbox is a blip of the company of Microsoft as a whole. They're not ever going to take huge risks for Xbox. They've demonstrated this time and again for 20 years.

I wouldn't say they have never taken risks, though I'm trying to think of recent risks and I'm coming up blank. I do think that going all in the sub business is a risky proposition for Xbox. If the subscription model doesn't work, then what?

 

[Riven326]

The game has been in development for five years. And apparently the team struggled to put this demo together. The game is supposedly launching in four months.

Five years. Weekly meetings. Four months to launch. Team struggles to put together something presentable from the game that's been in dev for five years.

 

[Portugeezer]

Who believes this retard anymore? Both him and Lie dispencer have been misleading and hiding things from their own fanbase for half a decade now.

"lie dispencer" really got me

 

[_Spr_Drnk]

Next time I'm drowning I too will be clutching at a straw, any.. to breathe through.

 

[Klayzer]

"lie dispencer" really got me

That one might stick around for a while. Where's the "x gonna give to ya" and the "I feel even better now" bravado talk we were hearing from the brass. Now Phil is strangely quiet, and Aaron is ...... Aaron

 

[REE Machine]

ya'll got 10 weeks to fix that "work in progress" I have a feeling not much will change.

 

[MasterCornholio]

 

[Flintty]

I’m a big Xbox fan and have faith that Halo will deliver but every time Greenberg speaks I cringe

 

[LordCBH]

I honestly expect that Microsoft was thinking everyone would be blown away by what they showed and that they are absolutely stunned that people didn’t take to a game that, artistically (and probably a little bit technically) looks worse than its predecessor. Halo 5 was crap, but it was somewhat pretty crap.

 

[Vawn]

I wouldn't say they have never taken risks, though I'm trying to think of recent risks and I'm coming up blank. I do think that going all in the sub business is a risky proposition for Xbox. If the subscription model doesn't work, then what?

I mean more anything that would put a dent in Microsoft's coffers. There was Minecraft, but that wasn't really an investment for Xbox as they still keep it on Nintendo and PlayStation.

 

[Falc67]

It’s interesting he’s admitting it’s rough, but others have praised its visuals

 

[ZehDon]

After yesterday’s melt down, and with only four months till launch, the best I think you’ll see is the Ray Tracing patch for XSX brought forward to launch.

But I guarantee you there’s a fucking strike team at 343 right now, fixing Brutes face, so we don’t see the meme in game.

 

[SatansReverence]

If any 343 dev reads this: I wish you the best of luck, good work and smart choices. Hang in there and I hope that the game is a great success in the end!!!

Im getting some strong MCC vibes from infinite. Game visibly rough or broken just months before release and from a company with a track record of being incompetent.

 

[Phase]

 

[JORMBO]

Everything is a work in progress until it is released. I expected more from their big game on their powerful new console. If it was still a year out maybe it would make sense, but this thing is only a few months away.

 

[VAVA Mk2]

Why do I get the feeling Aaron Greenberg's employment status may be "work in progress" later this year?....

 

[SoloKingRobert]

 

[mcjmetroid]

Well, didn't they say this will be the only Halo game for the next ten plus years?

He could be right, in that it's a work in progress. The problem is if they're going the GaaS route, it could stay a work in progress for years after it releases.

Unless I'm missing something, this seems to be Xbox's plan and it all has to do with GamePass. The majority of their games will be smaller AA stuff like Grounded, etc. These games will be used to round out the quantity of GP games and don't need to be at the $60 AAA retail quality.

Instead of having a bunch of huge AAA games, they'll instead have their big franchises turn into single games, that they'll update for years as they go along and survive off of microtransactions, paid expansions and GamePass subscriptions.

Maybe I'm reading it too much, but everything I've seen seems to point to this. The new Forza is simply called "Forza Motorsport". To me, that sounds like it will just be one game and built and updated over the lifetime of Series X. Halo Infinite has already been stated to be the same.

The rumors are the new Fable, simply called "Fable" will either be a full MMO or a GaaS with MMO elements.

I'd expect the other games (Gears) planned to be following this plan as well.

I responded to something similar here and it's very good point.

I would say absolutely if Microsoft had no competition at all OR went third party entirely and just had gamepass.

But because they have a new Xbox coming out they have to impress with their games and while game reviewers exist to compare big games to other big games. This strategy will never work if everyone thinks your games are trash.

As much as I love gamepass. For this reason alone I never want Microsoft to win a console generation.

Life is better when you have 2 companies very evenly matched doing different things.

 

[DeadOblivion78]

Ah yes, the new Xbox approach of making games. Release a game with barely any content and hope and pray that a big streamer like Summit1G will bring the game back to life like Sea of Theives 2 years later.

 

[Great Hair]

Two dis-likeable persons having a pre-established, pre-defined chit-chat about xbox. What´s up with that face on the thumbnail? She sure seems to be in-love with herself. Is she trying to get a model job?

 

[MrS]

That one might stick around for a while.

On topic, Aaron's gotta go. He's inept.

 

[TalentedMrJ]

I guess these comments are to be expected on an enthusiast board.
But coming from a guy that's never gamed on PC over the last 29 years the game looks fine to me.
A bit minimalist in detail and design but it seems to fit the art style.

And yes, I will admit the close up of the brute was funny as hell but it wasn't that bad.
Can these minor issues and details not be ironed out in 4 months?

And you ungrateful gamers!!! They rushed this together for us. Be thankful and appreciative cause I'm sure they worked their asses off.
Could have set themselves back putting this together for us and this is the thanks they get? C'mon now...
Had the game been a no show we have even more panic and doomsday threads.

All is well and be patient

 

[Vawn]

And you ungrateful gamers!!! They rushed this together for us. Be thankful and appreciative cause I'm sure they worked their asses off.
Could have set themselves back putting this together for us and this is the thanks they get? C'mon now...
Had the game been a no show we have even more panic and doomsday threads.

Lmao, are you for real?

 

[Riven326]

I guess these comments are to be expected on an enthusiast board.
But coming from a guy that's never gamed on PC over the last 29 years the game looks fine to me.
A bit minimalist in detail and design but it seems to fit the art style.

And yes, I will admit the close up of the brute was funny as hell but it wasn't that bad.
Can these minor issues and details not be ironed out in 4 months?

And you ungrateful gamers!!! They rushed this together for us. Be thankful and appreciative cause I'm sure they worked their asses off.
Could have set themselves back putting this together for us and this is the thanks they get? C'mon now...
Had the game been a no show we have even more panic and doomsday threads.

All is well and be patient