Halo Infinite has been struggling to find its footing since its release in 2021. However, it looks like the fortunes of the once-popular first-person shooter are slowly turning.
343 Industries has had a hard time keeping interest in Microsoft’s flagship live service game. With a series of delayed and canceled content, the player base of the game dwindled to a few thousand loyal gamers.
However, things are looking up as the multiplayer shooter has seen the first uptick in player numbers since the launch of Season 4. According to a tweet by HaloHub, the game saw an uptick yesterday for the first time since June 2023 when the latest season was released.
Halo Infinite has seen its first recent uptick in players on Steam since the last season launch! pic.twitter.com/IFa5GNjBwT
— HaloHub (@HaloHubGG) August 21, 2023
Having 7,000 concurrent players doesn’t seem like a lot for other games like Call of Duty, Overwatch 2, or Apex Legends, but it is significant for Halo Infinite. The game averaged just 3,406 players in the last 30 days on Steam.
According to the PC Gaming subreddit, the Halo API tracker reports that the total player count on all platforms is at 26,000. However, the game may not sustain those numbers as Starfield will have its early access at the end of next week.
Microsoft has given its full support to 343 Industries and the Halo Infinite team. Earlier this year, the studio was affected by the job cuts at Microsoft. There have also been high-profile departures from the studio since the release of Halo Infinite. Studio head Bonnie Ross left the company in September 2022 with multiplayer director Tom French, engineering director David Berger, and head of creative Joseph Staten following several months after.
Microsoft’s game studios boss Matt Booty recently said that 343 Industries will continue to be the lead studio working on Halo. However, Booty said that other outside studios may be involved and has not ruled out the participation of Activision Blizzard.
“If something like that were to happen, it would have to come from the studios,” Booty explained. “It’s unlikely that we would come in and dictate that from the top.”
Halo Infinite season 4 added a slew of content to the online first-person shooter including the return of the Infection PvP mode, two new maps, and two new pieces of equipment. The latest season also features a 100-tier battle pass and game balance updates.
Hopefully, Halo Infinite sees a resurgence similar to Battlefield 2042. However, to make it a reality, 343 Industries should increase the frequency of updates and the addition of quality content. The online first-person shooter space is too crowded right now and will see the addition of Ubisoft’s XDefiant in a few months.
