Talking Point: Should The Xbox One Version Of Halo Infinite Be Scrapped?

Yeah, if it's to be supported for years, at the end of the day, it makes most sense to scrap the One version. There's to much there that would hold them back, especially a few years deep into Series X and PS5. Time will tell I suppose

That's not gonna happen the game is already complete, They just need to fine tune and polish everything on the Series X version... At it's core this is a Xbox one game.. It's to late to do anything about it now..

To get an idea of how impressive a game looks on Series X before even any optimisations only just port, you need to go back and watch the Digitalfoundry video of Gears 5 running on Series X.

It's easy to say "just scrap the xbox one version" when you can afford to buy a console at launch.

Yes.

End of story.

@AJDarkstar This is actually the scenario I prefer. It's not as heart breaking for fans or as big a financial waste as outright cancelling the XB1 version, but it also means the Series X/S version has the required space to grow.

Just release both versions, and be honest about the XB1 version having a full campaign and multiplayer suite, but only receiving content updates for one year; after that, it's only stability patches and updates. That would work, if you ask me.

They should delay the pc port for 1 year instead because of the different cpus and gpus in the market, the xbox one has a standar hardware so they could develope for it much easier than pc

Yes yes yes.
Someone tell Phil.
This game needs to sell the series S/X of course later now and show a supreme showcase of 12tfp and sdd etc power.
Do it and release October 2021, and breath new life and love into Halo.

They have to scrap it at some point anyway since they will keep adding and updating the game over the next years.
Otherwise it will never each its full potential. Might as well just scrap it now.

So far 61% to scrap Xbox one version.
Listen up Microsoft.

They don’t need to scrap it. Just give 343 the time they need to finish the game.

And the first guy at DF.......who cares what Sony is doing? Microsoft will do what they do & Sony will do their thing. Phil has said, on separate occasions, that they are taking a different approach than Sony. Not sure why Microsoft has to “beat Sony”?

Microsoft has enough money to buy Sony several times over. I think they know what they are doing. Lol.

I think this also, complete campaign and multiplayer for the Xbox One upon release, but just one year of support for the game after launch..
Ideally scrapping it altogether makes sense, but as they have backed themselves into a corner by publically stating they would support Xbox One for up to 2 years after the Series X launch they can't really do this.. In my view if you say one thing but do another you lead yourself down a very tricky path...

No. There's no point. Scrapping the Xbone versions will not significantly improve the XSX graphics. The level design, the mission design, the enemy design, the engine features, etc has all already been built around supporting Xbone as well.

And it's more than that. The game has also been designed to work on PC. A platform that requires a wide variety of setups and power levels. Halo Infinite will need to support low to mid range anyway. So again, dropping the low end xbox one will not free up 343i to improve Inifnite beyond what they are already capable of doing so.

And then there's obviously the issue that the Xbone will have a larger install base than the XSX for at least a few years, maybe more. Dropping Xbone will reduce potiential audience size and further hinder a struggling franchise on a struggling platform.

I don't think the "drop xbox one" crowd have really thought this through.

It's annoying because the DF guy even acknowledged that modern engines are very scalable, but then still thinks the lower end is holding back the high end?, yeah, that's not how that works.

I'll say it again. Infinite's problem is not the platform, it's the company.

@Richnj

“Struggling franchise” on a “struggling platform”? Huh? 🙄

HAHAHA i can't believe people want microsoft to scrap the xbox one version. They seem to actually be pushing for it. Heck no don't scrap it, im not gonna buy the new xbox for it, id much rather be able to play on my one s. Ill eventually buy the xbox series, but not in a rush.

@LX_FENIX Exactly, scrapping the xbox one version would not improve the series x version at this point anyways.

@KelticDevil Halo 5 sold below MS' expectations (and has resulted in the shift away from the "Forerunner trilogy"), and the xbox one has clearly not performed as well as they would have liked, and nothing like the PS4 or Switch (resulting in Xbox moving away from trying to sell stupid amounts of consoles each gen).

I don't think they will do it, and I understand why, but I still think they should.

Especially if the game releases mid-2021. At this time of the year, there won't be any Xbox Ones avalaible in stores anymore. Not a single one on shelf, I'm pretty sure of that.

I don't believe for a second that they'll continue to sell the Xbox One S alongside their new models. The One S is still there to keep us waiting, that's all. To assume a transition.

I'm pretty sure that the only Xbox consoles avalaibles at this time will be the Series S and the Series X.

So just release it for Series S, Series X, and PC.

That's ridiculous and I can't believe DF would actually be stating that. That's like saying a PC game should stop supporting 3 year old GPUs. Nobody would say that. For that matter it's like saying Forza Horizon 4 should be PC-only because X1S just holds it back. Of course it doesn't, it can just do much more on PC.....that's why it's scalable. DF understands these things....why they'd be saying this confounds me.

It's true that Xbox games are Windows game and thus PC games so inferior hardware shouldn't hold any AAA game back. Yesterday, I answered a guy that said that 343 Industries hasn't done anything since 2015 that it's false because they've been fixing and expanding The Master Chief Collection for Xbox and Windows and have worked on Halo Infinite. I realised that although Xbox One shouldn't hold Series X back because it's just another Windows machine, that supporting many platforms entails additional work. It would be more practical to just support Series X and Series S (same CPU) and Windows. It's not that Xbox One can't have a watered-down version of a Windows game, it's just that it's additional work and next generation already requires a lot of human resources.

That said, I don't think that the Xbox One version of Halo Infinite will be scrapped because it probably started development as an Xbox One game and the engine seems ready to run on Xbox One S anyway. If you ask me if it "should" be scrapped, I answer that it depends on how much work the Xbox One version requires and when will it be ready but it still might annoy many fans so I wouldn't do it. Just release a 1080p version for Xbox One S with more basic effects, turn up the sliders for the Xbox One X version and launch a 4K HDR version with ultra settings and ray tracing for Series X. Release everything the same day without day-one 50 GB patches.

Surprised now gone up to 65% to scrap Xbox one version and focus on the series x.
Which I have to say I said straight after the game play, that the studio is to stretched and doing to many things at once on to many devices.

@Richnj

Just because Xbox sold less than Sony or Nintendo doesn’t mean they are a “struggling platform”. Microsoft makes a ton of money off of Xbox.

And while people rip on the Halo 5 campaign (myself included), the multiplayer is still huge. And Halo 5 sold just fine. It’s certainly not a “struggling franchise”. 🙄

No don't scrap it, it should still come out just before my ultimate game pass runs out and I don't plan on buying series X in that time frame

@Dezzy70 I acknowledged that in my comment, it's harder to support the ancient VCR Xbox One even if it runs Windows than focusing on Series X/S (same CPU) and Windows PCs.

@NEStalgia John said it for the sake of impressing people with next-gen graphics only, Richard and Alex said something similar to my thoughts. I think the three of them have a point. John's choice would be like the PS5 make-up added to PS4 Spider-Man DLC 🤣 (get prettier and f*** o** the last-gen consoles).

If the game is going to be delayed for a year or more, then as much as I don't like it, it doesn't make sense to keep the One version. Besides, by then there will be a much bigger adoption rate for the Series X.

But if it's only delayed a few months that I can see a lot of people getting upset if there's no One version.

@BlueOcean
What will happen will happen and next year we will see. It’s not just graphical it’s the game world detail and drawing you in more and AI. Making full use of that SSD as well.
Will be interesting to see what they do next year with Halo Infinite, but after the delay there will be massive expectations from series s/x owners. I say delay until October 2021 series s/x only and rebirth Halo. I think they are going to support and expand it for the following ten years so might as well.

@BlueOcean The game is literally a PC game that will be sold on PC. X1 isn't taking any more resources other than support for some UI components and the like, and additional QA resources. They have to support hardware worse than X1, and less standardized, for the PC version anyway. If we were talking about a console-only game it might be a different story, but any PC game, and ALL MS games are PC games, have to laptop integrated GPUs.....X1 isn't consuming resources in any meaningful way.

Though if they were smart they'd have used the "tick tock" approach like we all thought they were going to do from the beginning. Drop OG X1 and support 1S and 1X, then in a year or 2 drop 1S and support only 1X, etc, ending generations and going to a PC-like upgrade path.

This idea that "to compete with Sony they can't sell a cross-gen game during a shallow launch" is insane. It runs contrary to the entire MS/Crossplay ecosystem, yet unfortunately I see MS caving to that very mindset the more that idea is promoted. If XBox is just going to be a poor imitation of Playstation instead of a great XBox, why not just buy a Playstation instead?

It's a bleak day, when the industry critic point of view is to not offer choices and force "only the best version requiring the most powerful hardware". At what point does PC shift to "SLI Titans or GTFO"? Not because the game needs it but just for the screenshot marketing because consumers can't tell the difference between whether it's running on the best hardware or not the best hardware? And what happens to the Series S? Should that be scrapped, too, since showing a version of HI not running at 4k 120Hz might confuse consumers and underwhelm them as well? Maybe it should require 4k displays and VESA1000 HDR, as well. Wouldn't want to confuse the consumers by letting them see any version other than the best version. It's a ridiculous "lets copy Sony because the market understands it" mentality. It wouldn't surprise me on the internet, but coming from DF, that's surprising. Imagine if Nintendo just copied the same model all the time.

Not to mention, MS isn't in the "we won, so bend over" position Sony is (or that they were last time for the XBone launch). Customer-friendly is their sales pitch right now. If they demonstrate the "do as we say" business model now, what arguments will they actually have for convincning people to not buy PS5 instead?

@Dezzy70 If the engine isn't hot garbage, all those differences are already baked into the engine for PC support regardless of if they want to run it on a 360 or not.

Sony doesn't have to worry about that with Spiderman 1.6. They're not targeting PC so they're not building around variable draw distances, world detail and magnetic disc drives. MS is building for PC so they're already dealing with all that.

The 9th gen looks worse daily. At this pace, Nintendo doesn't need Switch 2 for another 5 years.

@NEStalgia I expect Halo Infinite to be released for the original Xbox One anyway. The tick-tock theory wouldn't work because Xbox One is a "family" that runs retail games. All those Xbox One consoles will be abandoned at the same time. Of course, online services and games will still be available on all consoles and there's nothing to worry because Xbox 360 is still supported but those next-gen games, they have dropped the Xbox One badge already: Everwild, Avowed, Fable...

@KelticDevil We can disagree what 'struggling' means, but keep in mind I'm saying struggling and not failures. And I'm definitely not the only one that's used the word 'struggling' when talking about the console.

"Halo 5's MP is still huge"*

*ish, and only in the US. The game has been dead outside the US since 2015. And even in the US it's not exactly been a top ten game. Halo 2, 3 and Reach were huge. Halo 5 is average at best. Hell, just for curiosity sake I googled "most played xbox games" the first link was from true achievements so it's obviously not a perfect source, but according to their stats, MCC was far popular during 2019 than Halo 5. That's a weird place to be when the 5 year old collection of games up to 19 years old, is more popular than the 4 year old "modern" game. And like I said, Halo 5 obviously spooked Xbox enough to do a spiritual reboot rather than Halo 6 as was originally planned.

There's around 50 million X-Box Ones out there right now. Let's say a quarter of them (an insanely high number) get a Series S or X within the first six months. Even than, you are selling to a smaller base of people. Keep the One version, but end support for it a year after release if it must be done to keep development going.

Also, keep in mind that Halo Infinite is gonna push Game Pass HARD. Might as well take advantage of that for people still on X-Box One. Heck, after the year of X-One development is over, offer an XCloud version to stream the Series X version to X-Box one for all the benefits of the Series X if their internet connection can handle it. Problem solved.

@NEStalgia Not all about next generation is bad, have you realised we'll be playing Forza Horizon 4 in quality mode (or better) at 60 FPS, no more choosing the trees or the frame rate 😜.

The more I read and also on here I might just keep my one x. I game on a 4k 65” tv VRR etc etc.
If the upgrades on say the new third party games assassins, 2077, farcry 6 and Microsoft’s own studios are not that much.
Ie FHZ 4, just 4K 60fps, currently have 4K 30fps on the one x. I might skip the series x for a while. But if the upgrades were substantial then maybe I will pick one up.
I have a feeling for the first year it is going to be diminishing returns.

@BlueOcean I still believe MS cowing to the Sony model is a disastrously lost opportunity. Tick Tock would have been a phoenix rebirth of XBox. One didn't have to be a "family", they broke that family by releasing 1X, a wildly different console different in every way except the CPU. In some ways the argument is probably that 1X was something it shouldn't have been. They should have made a 4k TV compatible One much more like PS4 Pro, much closer to X1S, but they got carried away. They launched it as effectively a new generation but then tried to backpeddle it into the "One family" - it made it a 3 year console pariah if they're going to go back to "true generations" and not tick tock. If they'd properly planned to break generations forever - go tick tock - they'd have put a better CPU in 1X, then not launched XSeX for another year or two and it would be better specced than it currently is. Then PS5 would have been lost in between XBox's generations the way Nintendo tends to be. That would have been smart. Instead....they did this. They released a new generation wrongly constrained and packaged into an old generation, only to replace it in 3 years unceremoniously by a newer console they're not really prepared to launch.

The irony is the X1X launch felt a lot more like a meaningful generation launch than the XSeX launch is feeling! Wonder if they'll replace this one in 3 years with XBox SeXY and treat that as a new gen part of the SeX family.

The fact that they're now backpedaling their generational ideas and just quietly following Sony's model - same old same old, is pretty deflating.

Haha, not choosing trees or frame rates is nice....but then they'll get us again: The 120hz 1440p crowd vs the 40-60hz 4k crowd with HDR. Of course those of us with 60hz panels don't have to worry about such things.

Given 343 has already said the OG XB1 had caused problems for MCC when Reach was being brought over last year, the OG XB1 is no doubt causing problems for Infinite. So the best approach for Infinite would probably be either release multiplayer on XB1 meanwhile campaign is Series X exclusive (like Black Ops 3 on 360 vs. XB1) or cancel the XB1 version and add the ability to stream Series X games on XB1.

No, they should not scrap it, but i also don’t think the XBox One version needs to keep feature parity.

Besides I doubt it’s the XBox one version holding the game back as much as attempting to implement RayTracing and all world light sources required.

I voted yes - but the real answer should be 'maybe'. If the core game-play can be preserved for current gen, then I see no reason why it needs to be cancelled. Obviously if next gen hardware affects the 'core' game-play, then maybe it does need to be cancelled.

However, I do think they need to work on making Halo Infinite a flagship title for Series X, focus on developing it for that hardware first and foremost and then 'see' how well it scales down, if at all, and decide then as to whether or not it can be released on current gen hardware. I don't think they should also worry about a 'native' 4k but make sure the game looks 4k and runs at 60fps. If they need to drop the Campaign to 30fps for XB1, so be it. With Ray Tracing too removed, maybe even have more static environments if things like grass/trees moving in the wind or when you walk through it is too much.

No doubt they could still release the MP as a free to play option on current gen but the campaign really needs to be a showcase for the Series X visually at the very least. I can't see why it couldn't be scaled down - even if it means fast travel is not very fast on current gen. I doubt the 'game play' itself will offer something that cannot be done on current gen - even if you have to cut the frame rate down to 30fps. Nothing about the 'design' shown so far looks exceptionally taxing for current gen - especially if they drop the frame rate to 30fps on current gen. I know that 30fps is not 'ideal' for a Halo game BUT if the world is as open as games like RDR2, FC5 etc, then maybe that's a 'compromise' necessary for current gen and another 'incentive' to upgrade to Series X.

Point is, the game should be a 'showcase' on Series X first and foremost. Then decide IF it can scale down to current gen and whether the compromises to get it to run smoothly are acceptable or not - if not 'cancel' it - stick with the free MP. If 30fps is not acceptable, as its known for being a 60fps game is too much of a compromise, cancel!!

That 'demo' though looked like it would run as well on a base XB1 and native 1080p as it was so underwhelming with numerous issues that Lighting will NOT fix. It looks worse than many other games on current gen - let alone 'representative' of what to expect on Series X. You can look at numerous open world games that impress far more, with far more complexity to the environment that run on current gen hardware with 7yr old GPU's and laughable CPU's so you expect to see a step up - not a step back...

I absolutely think it would be in their best interest to scrap the Xbox One version of the game. I want this game to be the game that immediately screams Xbox Series X to me, and in its current state, I don't think it is capable of doing that. I also think they should just delay the game until at least Holiday of 2021 so that it gets the extra development time it needs. I know that will cost them console sales by a large amount, but Microsoft's logic on the new gaming landscape doesn't seem to focus on console sales anyways. I just want to wowed, like I was when I first played Halo 3. That's all. I am willing to wait a while to get that.

At this point I think it would do more damage to scrap it than to keep it. If making it cross-gen is putting too much stress on 343, then perhaps consider pulling the plug.

The other option (and I think it's too late by now) would be to get another team to work on a bespoke Xbox One version while 343 focussed solely on the next-gen version, similar to how Titanfall and Rise Of The Tomb Raider were developed for their 360 counterparts.

Yeah we at 69% now to scrap Xbox one Halo 😇. Being honest that is higher than I thought it would be, I know it probably won’t happen but it makes me feel good.

@Dpullam
Well put could not agree more.
We are on 69% to scrap it, wish Microsoft could see this vote.

NO. Pls keep it. I've no plans to get a Xbox one x at this time. At the very least let it be avaible for xcloud.

@Dezzy70 The upgrades for all Xbox One and backwards compatible games make the Series X more attractive than a new console without that kind of support that magically improves your whole library.

@NEStalgia Ha ha 😂. Well, Series X is an incredible step forward, a true new generation and although we'll have to wait a little bit to see the good first-party stuff the fact that everything is better on it including old games makes it worthwhile.

@BlueOcean
Totally agree, but waiting might be an option for me. Knowing me I will first in the queue for a preorder 😆

Couldn’t agree more. Halo Infinite needed and should have been exclusive.

New generation, new game, new start. Too late now, they gotta work with what they have

@TimG13 I agree with you, I can’t see why they can’t just do that? Or make the XSX first then port it down. I mean people make Switch ports all the time, and if saves stress on the team great.

@Dezzy70 I may get one as soon as possible since someone wants to buy my Xbox One X 😂. Unfortunately., they want to buy it before November.

@mousieone 343 Industries have been working on Master Chief Collection years after release, years after Halo 5 (Windows version, Halo Reach remaster...) and along with Halo Infinite for Xbox One S/X. The only thing that they can do now is polish and remaster Halo Infinite for Series X. I'm sure they want to leave Xbox One behind for good after this.

@BlueOcean
Think I can easily sell me one x once I get the series x or maybe a week before release.
Have everything on external SSD, so it should be plug in to series x and off we go.

@Dezzy70 Yep, that's my intention. I'll copy the games I play often to the SSD, though.

Terrible decision in the first place in my opinion. I understand they are trying to make game pass viable and transferable across all platforms, but let's face it. Halo is a system seller, to make the One X a must buy, they need the true supporters to part with their cash and upgrade, the true supporters of Xbox don't care about game pass really, we care about the games we have invested in and those brands we love - Halo being the daddy of all games on the Xbox, you need to keep those happy, and the ones that parted way to the PS4 to remember what it's all about. Holding it back to this current generation only shows you only care about the money on game pass and not those true supporters who have kept Xbox going all those years.

@Bmartin001 its never too late.

@Bowser89 release is set for 2021. Lots of time.

@EquiinoxGII Err, as a wiiu and x1 owner I'm pretty sure the core fans are the people that stuck with the console the whole time, not the fly by nights that jump ship back and forth.

As a wiiu and switch owner, i also know what it's like when a console manufacturer screws over those loyal customers in favor of the fickle customers. I love switch, and I'll love XSeX (and I'll love ps5 too), but I'd rather xb not take Nintendo's approach to flipping off the loyal fans.

If Xbox actually wants to sell systems this Christmas, the answer is probably yes.

I have not read the full thread but I think a lot of people are missing that this game is a critical strategical point for both GamePass and xCloud. xCloud won’t be upgraded to Series X (or S?) for maybe another year (it’s likely the hardware will be supply constrained for quite a while and replacing every single rack server with XSX is not fount to be realistic.)

This means, at least until xCloud is completely transitioned, they need this game to run on One X|S.

I said yes, but thinking about it, that was probably to... emphasis to MS that the game needs to look truly stunning (someone mentioned gears 5 running on XSX earlier).
I'd rather have 60fps stunning than 120fps not so stunning (I'm just awake lol !)
I don't know much about game dev, but I think they should have started with XSX (overboard bells and whistles) and gradually to them out until it ran well on the XB1 (turn off raytr, reduce LoD, draw distance, etc)

@NEStalgia my whole post is about the dedicated fans of Xbox.

Well after reading the comments on here and so far vote 70% to scrap on Xbox one, should also scrap on x cloud for now and maybe revisit later.
Microsoft should listen to their customers and fans. It goes to show that they don’t listen, just like this generation when everyone said it’s about exclusive games to sell consoles and game pass.
Ok hopefully next generation exclusives will come with the new studios.
I will have a series x day one and I voted yes to scrap the Xbox one version. And have been with Xbox since day one every console on day one. I actually reckon I could run the Xbox game section and make it extremely successful 😃.

I'm wondering now if this is just a strange transition period for us all...
I mean, I'm all for MS approach (eg. scraping the console war, sign-up the developers, getting great games with game pass, that whole subscription-based instead of how many consoles sold, and ability to play games from previous generations with backwards compatibility, I'm play them anywhere I want with cloud streaming.)
But in my head, it's taking some getting used to
Because even though I agree with ALL of that, I still desire the Sony approach of bestest shiniest game on launch day.
I suppose the delay is disappointing but I have confidence that we can have it on both generations.
I also (probably naively) think that the wow-factor graphics aren't there because of of the art style of the game.

Interesting results, I didn't expect most to be in favour of scrapping the One version. I think it's a bit late for that. Ideally they would've focused on the Series X. But there's no point in scrapping it now. They've also said that they're still committed to the Xbox One, so it'll create a PR nightmare if they suddenly cancel the game for Xbox One and make it a next gen exclusive.

Because the Xbox One version is probably quite ready, spend a year polishing and remastering the game for Series X and release both in late 2021.

Q) What are your own thoughts?

A) Well I think that, unless the game is delayed by a significant amount of time, that it's probably a bit late for scrapping the Xbox One version to enhance the Xbox Series X in any significant way. I mean, I don't know the background of when Halo Infinite was being made in conjunction with when the Xbox Series X specs were finalised, but I imagine that this game was made initially for the Xbox One and then was decided to be a cross-gen game.

I guess the best that could be done would to be prioritise enhancing the Xbox Series X version and perhaps even release it sooner, but scrapping the Xbox One Version at this point seems like it'd result in wasted money and audience.

Q) Should 343 Industries scrap the Xbox One version of Halo Infinite?

A) I voted No. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild seemed to have no issue with being released on Wii U and Switch, with the game not seemingly held back mechanically by this nor sales wise (the Switch sold like crazy still), so I don't see it being an issue with Halo Infinite either.

It'll be a PR nightmare. there was already some salty reactions to most games at showcase being SX only (after the claims that for the first two years all exclusives will be on One).

But for me personally I own a One S and will probably buy SX in 2021. Point is, we all know if the showing of Infinite we saw running on SX (or equivalent PC build) looked dated and bad. Then playing it on One S is probably terrible anyway and it will look barely ok on One X. The showcase had issues but running at native 4K and 60fps it looked clean and smooth. If it targets 60fps as Halo 5 did it will probably be rendered at 900p or less most of the time on One and maybe 2K on One X. Since it is releasing in 2021 now the compromise isn't worth it.

i dont see a problem xbox one and series x run on essentially pc hardware which is scale up and down depending on your hardware dont see why they cant just do that here.

People can whine about the Xbox One version all they want. The fact is, they already made the Xbox One version and its not being removed any time soon, so people will have to accept it.

That being said, there is always the possibility that they can have the two versions, but over time keep adding next-gen updates to the Series X version. RTX on the XSX version is a good example. The better framerate and resolution of textures is also worth it for me to get the best version on Series X. This is apparently a 10 year project as well, so after release I predict this will still be one of the greatest games ever released, in spite of all the backlash.

Can't wait to grab this and play it at launch.