Update (May 11, 2021 3:38 PM EDT): The former 343 Industries employee has since clarified his comments, saying they were partially translated and taken out of context. He has uploaded a BiliBili video explaining the situation, stating that his experience at the studio may not fully represent 343’s work environment and culture. The original story below has been updated to reflect this information.
A former 343 Industries employee was reported to have leveled accusations of crunch development against the Halo Infinite studio, with a translation of a video citing issues such as over-ambition and overworked staff. Microsoft and 343 unveiled the latest Halo entry during E3 2018, referring to the project at the time as a “soft reboot” of the long-running sci-fi franchise.
The first showing for Halo Infinite during the Xbox Games Showcase last summer didn’t inspire much confidence in the next outing, though. Criticism about the subpar graphics came from all sides, with concerns most notably stemming from the fact that Halo Infinite was meant to act as the showpiece for the Xbox Series X|S launch. Microsoft had no choice but to delay the first-person shooter, a delay that will now see the title hit stores over a year after its initially scheduled due date after a troubled development cycle.
One former 343 Industries developer who served as Skybox Artist recently took to Chinese video-sharing website BiliBili to share insight about Halo Infinite’s production. ResetEra user rand0m_point partially translated the message from Mandarin, which featured a description of crunch development in his personal experience and highlighted some of the troubles the project faced due to allegedly over-ambitious decisions. In terms of the latter point, the ex-staffer alleged that executives wanted to create a “semi open-world game,” culminating in the need for a significant engine overhaul. The engine and the project itself were, thus, in concurrent development, an ineffective process exacerbated by engine defects that hindered workflow, which potentially explains the lackluster state of the Summer 2020 Halo Infinite demo. He’s since followed up with a new video fully clarifying and explaining his previously reported statements, shared on Twitter by JezCorden.
A lot of single-player and multiplayer content wound up on the cutting room floor, too, the former developer explained, adding that some of his contributions won’t see the light of day. Such a revelation is especially unfortunate given the artist’s claim that 343, with the ResetEra translation stating that “low-level” devs have worked overtime to bring the game to the finish line. While the former dev has distanced himself from 343 Industries, he firmly believes Halo Infinite won’t disappoint. His translated thoughts on the final product read as follows: “In fact, I think the finished product will still be great. The story is a big improvement, and the gameplay is much richer, though the development cycle is too long. Don’t expect it to be an epoch-making masterpiece.”
Change appears to be on the horizon, but it’s slow moving and not yet widespread. That hardly comes as a surprise, though. The discourse surrounding crunch has permeated the industry in one way or another for about two decades, spoken about jokingly, almost with pride, as far back as the late 1990s. Needless to say, it’s a deeply ingrained system that won’t experience change overnight, but it’s potentially reassuring to know that 343 may not be a particularly egregious offender in the area of crunch.
Halo Infinite hits PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S in Fall 2021.
