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TrueAchievements statements about Halo recent decline news
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Fortnite had 2 months of zero updates after release. It skyrocketed in player count during those 2 months.
Rocket League, Rainbow Six Siege, GTAV Online, Warframe, Minecraft all had essentially no support in the first months after launch. They all grew because fun + depth is waaaay more important than "significant content updates".
New maps, new weapons, new skins will have minimal impact on Halo Infinite. 343 needs to create a mode that's fun + depth for a wide spectrum of gamers.
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So they essentially just want a Battle Royale mode. I wonder if thats even possible with the current engine and netcode. BTB maxes at 24 players. There might be a technical reason for that.
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i'll get hate for this but i was always under the impression that halo enjoyed its popularity due to the immaturity of the console gaming / competitive fps as a whole, combined with underdeveloped competitive gaming for normal folk. when halo2 was huge (in ancient times, when i was in college), kids had pcs but still they chose to play halo on xbox over the LAN. why? because PCs are hard, xbox on the other hand has a controller and is meant for playing games.
of course, i was a quake guy. but 98% of those kids, despite having their own pc and being in college, never even heard of quake, all they knew was halo. i don't think they even understood you could play pvp fps on PC.
it took 20 years but i think people are finally starting to realize that halo just isnt that great of a game, the gameplay, art direction is unashamedly derivative, etc i could go on.
of course, i was a quake guy. but 98% of those kids, despite having their own pc and being in college, never even heard of quake, all they knew was halo. i don't think they even understood you could play pvp fps on PC.
it took 20 years but i think people are finally starting to realize that halo just isnt that great of a game, the gameplay, art direction is unashamedly derivative, etc i could go on.
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Banjo64
cumsessed
Bo_Hazem
Banned
So, did anyone actually read this article? Is it me or does the title not match the contents?
This graph for Xbox is in the article and they talk about how the player count is dropping off in total ...
And quotes like this ...
So yeah ok. I mean read the whole thing, the data doesn't match the title whatsoever. There is a massive drop in players on Xbox as well. I'd be counted in that recent player graph though.
Wow, so this whole thread and clickbait article was for nothing.
JackMcGunns
Member
iHaunter
Member
That and there were far fewer FPS options no? So many FPS IPs nowadays.
iHaunter
Member
Right so it's dropped significantly in player base. So I don't get how your quote changes that?
thicc_girls_are_teh_best
Member
Damn, it's almost as if Halo Infinite is outperforming even Forza Horizon 5 and COD Vanguard on the platform in terms of player count. But, why aren't people making FUD narratives that those games are dying off, too?
Is it because by focusing on Halo, which is often seen as the face of the Xbox brand, that by implying it's dying they can then trick people to infer that Xbox as a brand is doing badly? No way, there's just absolutely no way people could be wanting to do that. I'm shocked
!!
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Damn, it's almost as if Halo Infinite is outperforming even Forza Horizon 5 and COD Vanguard on the platform in terms of player count. But, why aren't people making FUD narratives that those games are dying off, too?
Is it because by focusing on Halo, which is often seen as the face of the Xbox brand, that by implying it's dying they can then trick people to infer that Xbox as a brand is doing badly? No way, there's just absolutely no way people could be wanting to do that. I'm shocked
Because the idea that Forza Horizon is somehow the bar to measure Halo Infinites success is preposterous considering the history of both franchises. We've also seen a litany of posts pointing out the fact that traditional CoD multiplayer is losing relevance. Warzone is obviously another story.
Also, is there anyone here who actually thinks XBox as a brand is dying? They just spent 78 billion dollars over the last two years building a stable of developers that dwarfs both PlayStation and Nintendo in size. I think not.
There's a thread here on NeoGAF asking members to predict when Halo Infinite would slide out of the top 3 position on XBL Most Played. 76% of NeoGAF (including me) was wrong. [I can't link to thread because NeoGAF has been acting weird for me lately]
Halo Infinites struggles are a point of discussion because it's interesting to hypothesize why the slide in popularity. I understand your sentiment if it were 2017 when XBox had little outside of Halo but we're in a different time today. XBox is healthier than it's ever been. We all know that. Halo is...decidedly not.
Hendrick's
If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
There are no numbers, its a percentage of the accounts that share data with True Achievements that have played Halo Infinite on any given day. Since they are only looking at people who share their account with TA, this data may be more useless than Steam numbers.So, did anyone actually read this article? Is it me or does the title not match the contents?
This graph for Xbox is in the article and they talk about how the player count is dropping off in total ...
And quotes like this ...
So yeah ok. I mean read the whole thing, the data doesn't match the title whatsoever. There is a massive drop in players on Xbox as well. I'd be counted in that recent player graph though.
DaGwaphics
Member
Fortnite became an event of its own, not every game can do that. LOL
As the article states, no other multiplayer game released near Halo even hit 10% and all dropped. Steep declines are normal outside of a handful of games. If you are inside the top 20 you are doing well, top 10 even better. If you bomb you will quickly be out of the top 50. Keep trying though.
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Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Didn't Naraka Bladepoint release a couple of months before Halo Infinite? Go compare that games retention numbers to Halos. Night and day.
The multiplayer successes we've seen over the last 7, 8 years are mostly games that steadily climbed in popularity after release.
And let's be real, if Halo Infinite had a big BR esque mode right now it would almost certainly be far more popular.
The BR they should have cared about was Battle Royale.
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kingfey
Banned
Halo being n6 on 3rd month is great, since Most people finished the SP mode. Not to mention the game has little content for now. That itself is achievement.
BR mode is not an easy task. For BR mode, you need constant content, and good progression mode. With current Halo progression, the BR mode would be dead fast. Until they fix the progression mode, BR is of the table.
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Respawn Entertainment had ~ 100 employees and 2 years to produce Apex Legends.
343 had ~ 500 employees and 6 years (or 4 years depending on when they should have decided) to make one.
The idea that 343 didn't have the time or resources to produce a multiplayer mode that resonates with the wider audience is a little silly if you ask me.
kingfey
Banned
Respawn didnt have new engine work, and story mode.
DaGwaphics
Member
Like I said, if you are top 20 or top 10 you are doing well. If you bomb like say Battlefield2042 you will find yourself out of the top 50 real fast.
No one realistic ever expected Fortnight levels of success, even seeing Apex over it is no surprise. Halo obviously isn't as big as it used to be. Nevertheless, it is far from a flop on the Xbox platform.
ZehDon
Member
Not quite. For me, it's a sample size of accounts interested in sharing their data with an Xbox fan site. This sample shows us a steady decline in player population. Steam is another sample, this time of specifically PC players on Steam, and it also shows a steady decline in player population. If we're seeing a decline in two samples for the same game across the same timeline, the odds of it not representing a trend in the greater population is basically zero. Looking across social media and discussion forums, the general feedback is Halo Infinite's core gameplay is rock solid, and literally everything else needs to be completely re-done. This sentiment fits with the steady decline in players across both samples - the game simply has too many issues for most to stick with it.
At this stage, I think there's enough clear evidence to say Halo Infinite is floundering. Halo Infinite had it's opportunity to capture an audience for a new generation. They decided to release an incomplete and broken game with a terrible progression system and extremely heavy handed monetisation. They'll need to fix most of that before they'll see a reverse in these trends.
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Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
There's a NeoGAF poll here that asked members to predict when it would fall out of the top 3 on XBL Most Played. 76 percent predicted after the first 3 months. It's now #6 and we're not at the 3 month mark.
I'd say it's performing below expectations for a Halo game.
DaGwaphics
Member
And? How many votes was that, 100 - 200?
Like I said, if you were "realistic" it was obvious that Halo was going to need to find its footing again. The IP has definitely softened over the years, but if it can hang in the top 20 for an extended period after launch and the TV show does anything, it can still find evergreen status. Every game doesn't stay top 20 for years, even bona fide hits. Staying ahead of Fortnite and GTAV can't be the only barometer of success, unless you are saying almost everything that is released is a failure.
DarkMage619
$MSFT
I don't think GAF polls are a good indicator of anything in the games space. GAF predicted Switch failure too. GAF was certain MS would drop out the hardware market, some even thinking so AFTER the announcement of the Activision acquisition. It is way too early to predict failure for the new Halo and comparing it to the most successful MP games on the market isn't the best barometer.
I pretty much came in to say this but don't have to now because you did already, so thanks.So, did anyone actually read this article? Is it me or does the title not match the contents?
This graph for Xbox is in the article and they talk about how the player count is dropping off in total ...
And quotes like this ...
So yeah ok. I mean read the whole thing, the data doesn't match the title whatsoever. There is a massive drop in players on Xbox as well. I'd be counted in that recent player graph though.
Hendrick's
If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
It's a sample size of people who are achievement hunters , whom by nature move on from a game once they have all achievements. In other words, it's a horrible sample to use for measuring longevity.
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
What does "find its footing again" mean?
Halo needed to do one thing. It needed to be fun to play, by a large audience of gamers, for more than a few weeks.
Halo had every advantage in the world going for it. 6 years, massive well funded studio, one of the largest names in gaming, huge advertising budget, the unanimous adoration of gaming press (this one particularly irks me as Halo looked vulnerable at every step Ieading to release).
It's launch was massive. 256k concurrent player on Steam with, probably more, on XBL.
The fact that goalposts are now shifting to "Halo doesn't need to stay in the top 20" is crazy to me. It's Halo for goodness sakes! Hay! Lo! That game was a 1st overall pick that's telling its parents "Well, at least I'm getting to play special teams and some 3rd and long passing downs."
I suspect 343 leadership played it so safe with Halo Infinite because that studio is a likely a dumpster fire. At some point, they decided "We'll make a slightly better SplitGate (game developed by 2 college students). We're not capable of making anything more ambitious." It's kind of astounding because that campaign was actually pretty fun.
PS: The Halo show won't do anything for the game other than provide a small bump that evaporates quickly because very few people find basic arena shooters fun anymore. The game needs a mode that gets with the times.
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STARSBarry
Gold Member
Enjoyed the first 5 posts or so who didn't read the article or look at the graph they provided, and essentially went off the headline.
As others have pointed out, this is only a scan of people who use "true achievements" which is why they can say its number 2 on there, while it is Number 6 in the USA....
Oh and number 12 in the UK, but I guess the US since its higher than any other region is what people go off.
As others have pointed out, this is only a scan of people who use "true achievements" which is why they can say its number 2 on there, while it is Number 6 in the USA....
Oh and number 12 in the UK, but I guess the US since its higher than any other region is what people go off.
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Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Why wouldn't we compare it to the most successful multiplayer games on the planet? That's what Halo historically has been. It's had more advantages at its disposal than 99 percent of the top multiplayer games.
It's literally The Yankees, with the highest payroll in baseball, saying "It doesn't matter that we missed the playoffs. We finished with a better record than half the league and dog gone it, that's pretty good."
In sports, many industries probably, if you don't deliver when you've been given more resources than your competition, you pack your bags because ownership replaces you.
We'll see if Joseph Staten is the new guy or not.
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captainraincoat
Banned
Waiting for the God of War pc decline story
steamcharts.com
God of War - Steam Charts
An ongoing analysis of Steam's player numbers, seeing what's been played the most.
ZehDon
Member
In a multiplayer game with lots of achievements designed around encouraging long term play measured across the three months the game has been officially available?
You’re also outright excluding achievement hunters from playing multiplayer games in your argument.
It’s a sample. So is Steam. So is Xbox. Add them together and what do we see? People are dropping Halo Infinite.
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
Now imagine what population Infinite could have grown and kept outside the US with proper player server selections.
Now imagine what Infinite could have sustained with optimised PC support and better anti-cheat systems.
Now imagine what Infinite could be with monthly content drops ready out of the launch bag.
Now imagine what a Battle Royale mode or a PvE coop at launch could have done.
I'm not after the fall of Halo or failure of 343 but I'll be damned if I don't hold them accountable to opportunity loss; just as they did with MCC's launch and early years.
Now imagine what Infinite could have sustained with optimised PC support and better anti-cheat systems.
Now imagine what Infinite could be with monthly content drops ready out of the launch bag.
Now imagine what a Battle Royale mode or a PvE coop at launch could have done.
I'm not after the fall of Halo or failure of 343 but I'll be damned if I don't hold them accountable to opportunity loss; just as they did with MCC's launch and early years.
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kingfey
Banned
Their unforgivable act is making the franchise a 10 year game. That is not a good idea, for a video game, unless the resources are there on day1.
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Waiting for the God of War pc decline story
God of War - Steam Charts
An ongoing analysis of Steam's player numbers, seeing what's been played the most.
It's a...single player game?
Kagey K
Banned
So is Halo for a lot of ppl. Not everyone plays all games modes.
I don't consider Bioshock 2 to be a multiplayer game and never touched the multi.
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Dr. Claus
Vincit qui se vincit
Now Imagine what Infinite could have been if it was a finished product headed by competent directors and didn’t try to create a greedy, low effort “Free to Play” rushed release?
Dr. Claus
Vincit qui se vincit
Difference is a game with a heavy MP component should see longer player retention versus a single player only release. Halo has always thrived on its MP and 343i fucked it up a fourth time in a row.
Yoboman
Member
Did they check the five games ahead of it? How can you simultaneously claim it has the highest % of retained players for the userbase while it is also behind older games?
But kingfey weren't you the one fooling everyone with those steam numbers to begin with?
Halo Infinite multiplayer is 113k concurrent player on steam now
https://steamdb.info/app/1240440/graphs/ Update: 127k now 132k now. edit 2: 139k now. Road to 200k today. 152k now. 157k. edit: 167k now Edit: 176k now. Only 24k left for 200k. edit: 219k Yay, we broke the 200k:messenger_clapping: 233k now. 242k. road to 300k. 253k now. 47k left for...
DarkMage619
$MSFT
The multi-player competitive shooter space has changed significantly since the last Halo game. On top of that Halo 5 was released only on X1, a platform that wasn't MS's best effort.
Success of a game that is continually updated is also tough to gage. Sea of Thieves was considered a complete failure at launch. No one who is being honest would call it that now. Halo in its prime didn't have the competition it has today. That being said it is doing quite well considering no other platform holder has put out a superior product.
Magic Carpet
Member
Am I supposed to go back and play the campaign over and over again? Once was enough.
I came I saw I blew stuff up. Done.
Now bring on the Robot Dino game.
I came I saw I blew stuff up. Done.
Now bring on the Robot Dino game.
kingfey
Banned
That post wasnt about keeping players, but how many people tuned out to test the game. Same for god of war steam chart. That was for US pc players.But kingfey weren't you the one fooling everyone with those steam numbers to begin with?
Halo Infinite multiplayer is 113k concurrent player on steam now
https://steamdb.info/app/1240440/graphs/ Update: 127k now 132k now. edit 2: 139k now. Road to 200k today. 152k now. 157k. edit: 167k now Edit: 176k now. Only 24k left for 200k. edit: 219k Yay, we broke the 200k:messenger_clapping: 233k now. 242k. road to 300k. 253k now. 47k left for...www.neogaf.com
This on other hand, is about Xbox players. Since Halo is mainly an Xbox game. They are the one who are playing this game. not us PC players.
Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Here's what I read when I read your post.
Ryan Leaf (#1 overall pick) is actually doing pretty well through his first 4 games. Defenses are way better today than when Joe Namath played.
Ryan Leaf is doing pretty well through his first 4 games because no one else from Washington State (his college) has done very much in the NFL this year.
It's a strange framing you're doing to protect a game that had more resources at its disposal than basically all its competition.
And the thing is, I don't think its stabilized yet. I think we're still in the "losing a decent percentage of player base each week" phase.
250k concurrent PC players played the game. ~235k have seemingly stopped.
kingfey
Banned
Yup, people have other games to play on pc.
Halo doesnt have a chance on the pc market sadly. PC has tons of games, which xbox doesn't have. That is why its not losing alot of players.
Valorent and CSGO are exclusive to pc. If those were on xbox, it would stole some of halo players.
