Former 343 Industries skybox artist Eric Lin claims that the Halo Infinite development cycle was in shambles at one stage. So much so that the game’s original premier trailer back in 2020 included many features that were cut or not even implemented at the time. However, the rush to announce the game was a decision by the studios execs. They not only caused major backlash during the announcement but also signed off on features that Lin claims are overambitious.

It all spells a rather grim working environment at 343 Industries. According to Lin, staff at the studio are experiencing a major crunch work environment as they develop Halo Infinite. While Lin is positive that the final product will be great and there have been massive improvements since the reveal, he does state that players should lower their expectations. He says players should not expect an “epoch-making masterpiece”.

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Much of Halo Infinite’s rocky development cycle comes down to the game’s semi-open world approach. Lin says that while the idea sounds great on paper, it relied on the game’s engine to be reworked in order to develop the game. This resulted in a rocky development process. The engine suffered/ is suffering from major defects due to this and many of the game’s workflows were not ideal for the size and scale of the project.

As a result of the backlash and extended development time, many of the game’s original features have now been cut from the project. This also includes multiplayer. Lin says that players will never see most of the original concept.

The big worry here is the current crunch at 343 Industries. Lin claims that many of the employees, especially low-level ones work very hard. In addition, they work until the early hours of the morning to meet deadline and overcome engine issues.

Halo Infinite is currently in development for Xbox and PC. The game is expected to launch by the end of 2021. Watch the disastrous announcement trailer down below:

Source: BilliBi

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