Xbox Boss Phil Spencer explains why Halo was absent during the Xbox Games Showcase.
Halo Infinite had a bad start which made a lot of fans disappointed. Sure, the visuals and gameplay were top-tier but there were a lot of missing features and that got worse in the coming years. 343 Industries delayed the co-op campaign for a long while, but it got implemented later on. Unfortunately, the couch co-op version did not come through. Earlier seasons were also lackluster and multiplayer lobbies were so bare. It got better but compared to the previous titles, those were better, this was bad. Recently, Xbox Games Showcase came up and some fans were expecting that Halo would make a showcase or at least a tease, but it was a no-show.
Halo Was a No-Show
Spencer recently got interviewed by Guardian explaining the reason for the absence of Halo. He says that Xbox has significant growth in its first-party studio lineup. This meant the once dominant franchises no longer needed to be in front and center at every Xbox event.
“I wouldn’t say Halo is of lesser importance, but we have over 20 studios now,” he said. “I’ll go back to the years where I had basically four games – Fable, Forza, Halo, Gears, the four horseman of the apocalypse. We have a lot more games now.”
343 Industries Gets Restructured
Spencer also said that 343 Industries has been restructured and was one of the factors of the franchise skipping the showcase.
“We’ve been pretty public about the leadership change at 343,” he said. “You can kind of see that in some of the social things [the team have] been doing around seasons, but I don’t want to force them to talk about their longer-term vision until they’re ready. I think you’ll see some pretty cool things coming.”
It seems Halo Infinite did not have anything new to show even though Season 4: Infection was going to be released. Xbox probably prioritized the newer titles and content for the existing ones. Until 343 Industries moves forward to the “sequel” of Halo or the new team from 343 Industries have new ideas for the game, Halo will not be a focus in many showcases in the near future.