- Halo players have been increasingly vocal that they are not happy with the lack of playlists for certain modes
- 343 Industries community manager John Junyszek assured fans that some playlists will be added by the end of the year
- Halo community manager Brian Jarrard said that the team will work to meet fan expectations but that will not happen instantly
Spokespeople from 343 Industries have assured Halo Infinite players that playlists are being worked on but may take a while to go live.
Junyszek Assures That Playlists Will Be Added By the End of 2021
With gaming becoming more prominent, people’s expectations are always on the rise. However, as developers seek to meet their deadlines, games are oftentimes released in a suboptimal state, sparking a wave of disgruntlement among fans. Halo Infinite isn’t any different.
Despite Infinite having many advantages and releasing an early free-to-play multiplayer build prior to the full release, there are still some things players would like to see. Not only have cheaters been running rampant as soon as in the first week of the multiplayer going live, but multiplayer playlists have been absent from the game, disallowing players to play the game mode of their choice. Many players who love Halo’s Deathmatch mode, or Slayer, as it is called, have been very unhappy with some even leaving the game because of the lack of a dedicated playlist.
On December 3, John Junyszek, a community manager at 343 Industries, shared on Twitter that playlists are being worked on.
He explained that the dev team is simultaneously working to implement playlists in the Fiesta, Tactical Slayer and Free-for-all game modes and all three should be implemented in the game by the end of 2021.
Jarrard Addresses the Community on Reddit
Halo’s community director, Brian “ske7ch” Jarrard, addressed the outrage in Reddit. He said that he completely understands players’ woes but doesn’t agree with their toxic way of expressing them.
“As for Slayer itself – we’re still having discussions around feasibility. We would love to have modes and experiences that meet player expectations vs. the backlash situation we’re in today. I don’t believe anyone at 343 thought not having Slayer was a good idea,” Jarrard said.
However, Jarrard added that 343 Industries wanted to be careful at launch after working for six years to try and make Infinite the best possible addition to the franchise. That’s why the company took a “measured approach” with the launch playlists setup.
“We have UI limitations with the game right now in the way and number of playlists that are exposed. We have complex and not-ideal progression and challenge systems intertwined in playlists and modes that are not necessarily trivial to de-couple and change. (yes the entire challenge/progression system needs a lot of work – something the team is acutely aware of and prioritizing).
“The team’s plans for a Slayer playlist, I think, are more robust than what might ‘suffice’ for an interim solution. I love the ideas and some of the variants they’re working on – those all require tuning and most importantly – testing. QA is a huge dependency and it’s a critical part of the development pipeline that has been running nonstop for months to launch this game,” Jarrard added.
To conclude, he explained that the dev team is working as fast as it can and will try to meet fan expectations as time goes on. He warned that this may be a lengthy process.
