Category: Video Games

Halo developer 343 Industries says Master Chief and Cortana are staying under its roof, but reports of deep cuts to Halo’s development staff calls into question the studio’s ability to sustainably develop future Halo content.

This saga began last week, when we learned that the Halo studio was impacted by Microsoft’s plans to lay off 10,000 people. Since the news broke, speculation has run rampant about Microsoft’s plans for its flagship franchise, including rumors that Microsoft could pass Halo development to another studio entirely, leaving 343 Industries in more of a producer role. These rumors prompted 343 Industries to speak out over the weekend to put the rumblings to rest.

343 Industries’ studio head Pierre Hintze shared a message on Halo’s official Twitter account, writing, “Halo and Master Chief are here to stay. 343 Industries will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great.”

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— Halo (@Halo) January 21, 2023

But for a studio that has struggled to meet Halo Infinite release dates multiple times, can the recently downsized 343 continue to handle development of a big-budget, AAA first-person shooter franchise? It’s hard to say.

IGN reached out to Xbox’s representatives, but did not receive comment ahead of publication.

‘Hit hard’

IGN has learned that significant cuts have been made to 343’s Halo development team. One former 343 employee impacted by the layoffs estimated about a quarter of 343’s staff was impacted, although that’s not a firm statistic. We’ve also learned that around 30 people were let go from 343’s art department alone, with former employees saying 343 Industries was hit “hard with positions impacted across all disciplines.”

Meanwhile, at least one senior-level source with knowledge of 343’s internal workings, but who is no longer with the studio, has claimed to IGN that it is being reduced to to publishing team. However, based on conversations that IGN has had with knowledgeable sources, the situation at 343 appears to be ongoing, and there is a growing — if unconfirmed — conviction that 343 will no longer be Halo’s sole developer when it’s settled.

Looking through LinkedIn profiles of other laid-off employees reveals hits to folks working on Halo Infinite’s engine, presentation, VFX, gameplay, game design, and more essential departments. It’s clear that 343 is a significantly different studio compared to just seven days ago. In addition, 343 Industries was already dealing with the growing pains of launching a live service game, with a whirlwind of highs and lows over the last year since Halo Infinite’s initial release.

Despite a strong launch at the end of 2021 that included praise for both Infinite’s fresh take on a Halo campaign and the franchise’s first-ever free-to-play multiplayer, the cracks quickly started to show. Fans instantly pushed back against Infinite’s controversial multiplayer progression system, as 343 scrambled to fix the shop and battle pass.

But the problems didn’t stop there, with the cancellation of split-screen co-op, lengthy delays to Forge Mode, and long content droughts during Halo Infinite’s first Seasons. Just five months after what appeared to be the start of Halo’s big comeback, the community was out of patience.

343 rapidly saw a creative exodus after launch, with 343 founder Bonnie Ross, multiplayer creative director Tom French, and lead narrative designer Aaron Linde all leaving the company in 2022.

Patrick Wren, a former senior multiplayer designer now working on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, was unsparing in his assessment of 343’s leadership in a post on Twitter.

“The layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened and Halo Infinite should be in a better state. The reason for both of those things is incompetent leadership up top during Halo Infinite development causing massive stress on those working hard to make Halo the best it can be,” Wren wrote.

The layoffs at 343 shouldn’t have happened and Halo Infinite should be in a better state. The reason for both of those things is incompetent leadership up top during Halo Infinite development causing massive stress on those working hard to make Halo the best it can be.

— Patrick Wren (@Witdarkstar) January 19, 2023

Along with those departures, 343 is facing another creative void at the top, with Halo Infinite director Joseph Staten leaving 343 to rejoin Xbox publishing. Staten’s return to Halo was always designed to be a temporary arrangement, but his departure is still causing concerns among the Halo faithful.

Regardless of what happens with Halo in the future, it’s clear that the initial 10-year plan for Halo Infinite isn’t playing out exactly as Microsoft had hoped. For now, Halo Infinite Season 3: Echoes Within is still set to kick off in early March, adding new maps, modes, and weapons to the game.

Additional reporting by Kat Bailey.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Since Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s launch in November, players have issued complaints about its incomplete gameplay mechanics and unstable framerate, with just 35% of its 8,510 recent Steam reviews currently being positive. Now, Fatshark, the team behind the co-op shooter, is shifting its focus to address these complaints.

Today, Fatshark CEO Martin Wahlund addressed the game’s launch and outlined the team’s plan moving forward with an open letter published on the @Darktide40K Twitter account.

When creating Warhammer 40K: Darktide, according to the open letter, the team wanted to “create a highly engaging and stable game with a level of depth that keeps you playing for weeks, not hours.”

“We fell short of meeting those expectations,” Wahlund acknowledged.

He then moved to announce a new focus on addressing feedback, which will include “a complete crafting system, a more rewarding progression loop,” and improved “game stability and performance optimization.”

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— Warhammer 40K: Darktide (@Darktide40K) January 24, 2023

The team’s new focus will indefinitely delay the launch of the game on Xbox Series X|S, which was slated to release shortly after the game’s November PC launch but hadn’t yet received a release date at the time of the delay. Fatshark is also delaying seasonal content rollout and upcoming premium cosmetics.

Initially revealed in 2020, Warhammer 40K: Darktide faced a two month delay before its eventual release in November 2022. We gave the game an 8 in our review, praising its satisfying gameplay but docking points for its tedious progression grind and “persistent framerate dips.”

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Between hunting for weapons, fighting bosses, and completing Hyrule’s many side quests, gamers who choose to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in its entirety can spend upward of 50-100 hours preparing for its final boss. Of course, some players choose to abandon the game’s guidance and instead speedrun beating the final boss without preparation, and that’s exactly what Twitch streamer Player5 did — 50 times in one day.

On January 15, Player5 managed to beat Breath of the Wild 50 times in just under 23 hours. The full stream is replayable on his Twitch channel, where they also claimed the current Any% world record for Breath of the Wild speedruns.

“I decided to do it early January, although a friend of mine TheRealNoman had the idea probably ~1 year ago,” Player5 told IGN. “I also had seen Simply run SM64 1200 star (10 120 star speedruns in a row) pretty recently, so I figured it would be a fun challenge.”

I just beat BotW 50 times in 24 hours ? Thanks everyone who stopped by and kept me awake for this! pic.twitter.com/YBZXnQBez0

— Player 5 (@Player5SR) January 15, 2023

As pointed out by GamesRadar+, Player5’s fastest completion time during this marathon was 24:16, with a relatively similar average time of 25:23. However, achieving this precise timing wasn’t easy.

“The hardest moment was trying not to get annoyed by the small mistakes I was making around the 18-20 hour mark,” they said. “I knew I was capable of much better, but getting tilted just makes everything worse.”

Player5 was confident in the consistency of an Any% run through Breath of the Wild, and their marathon challenge run only served to prove it.

“I guess I also learned that I’m still able to play well even after 20 hours of constant playing,” they said.

Player5’s impressive run is the latest addition to Breath of the Wild’s long history of speedruns and challenges, which includes this player who completed the game without crossing their path once and this YouTuber who opened a chest that no other player could open for four years.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

We end January’s IGN First coverage of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty by going back to the very beginning: Let’s have a look at the game’s opening cutscene. Watch it above.

In the clip, we hear a man talking about an elixir sought by the sovereigns of ancient China. This elixir could grant immortality, but its power was overwhelmingly dangerous, and the elixir became the cause of conflicts and political machinations throughout the years.

While China’s ancient leaders are known to have actually been in search of such an elixir of life, it appears that in Team Ninja’s newest action game the elixir is real.

After the first phase in the battle against Zhang Liang – the boss in last year’s Wo Long demo – he swallows the elixir and becomes a demon. It could be that the demons that curse the land of Team Ninja’s fictitious China were brought to life by the elixir. Of course, that is only speculation, but it will be interesting to see in the full game, which is set to release on March 3 for PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/PC, as well as being available on Xbox Game Pass day one. Be sure to check out our final preview, a gameplay video of the Tianzhushan area, a high-level superplay by the devs, our Aoye boss fight video, a detailed article on the game’s weapons and an interview with the developer about designing the game’s bosses.

Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan.