343 Beware of Splitgate

Games Halo Infinite
1

A little arena shooter called “Splitgate” is gaining momentum. The game is currently in beta, but it already has six times the population of the MCC. At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for Halo, and when playing, it even feels somewhat like it. The gameplay comes with an innovative twist though: the ability to create portals, just like in the Valve game.

Now am I advertising the game here? No. I wanted to remind 343 how fierce the competition is. Please, 343, deliver the game we want. Listen to the community, always. The move to F2P opened opportunities, but also a whole world of threats. Since MP will be free, the consumer has nothing to lose when they leave the game. Go easy on the monetization whenever possible, follow the voice of the consumer right here on Waypoint, and put Halo back into the spotlight, where it should be.

2

> 2535436322352331;1:
> Now am I advertising the game here? No. I wanted to remind 343 how fierce the competition is. Please, 343, deliver the game we want. Listen to the community, always. The move to F2P opened opportunities, but also a whole world of threats. Since MP will be free, the consumer has nothing to lose when they leave the game. Go easy on the monetization whenever possible, follow the voice of the consumer right here on Waypoint, and put Halo back into the spotlight, where it should be.

These are some wise words although we’ll see if this warning is heeded. From what we saw with armor coatings in the battle pass, cR as premium currency, and paid XP boosters/ challenge swappers I’d hazard a guess and say it won’t. The armor coating system alone had a better method of being added, while preserving the original color selection system which didn’t happen. That in conjunction with 343i being so bold as to put loot boxes as the sole means of progression in Halo 5 things are looking grim on the monetization front. While it’s too early to definitively say, there are certainly red flags being raised.

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Beware of Halo Infinite. I played Splitgate and honestly I already prefer Infinite drastically more.

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> 2533274792737987;3:
> Beware of Halo Infinite. I played Splitgate and honestly I already prefer Infinite drastically more.

Me too, but that is not really the point here. Split gate should serve as a reminder for 343 to be as consumer-centric as possible if Halo Infinite’s MP is to survive.

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> 2535436322352331;4:
> > 2533274792737987;3:
> > Beware of Halo Infinite. I played Splitgate and honestly I already prefer Infinite drastically more.
>
> Me too, but that is not really the point here. Split gate should serve as a reminder for 343 to be as consumer-centric as possible if Halo Infinite’s MP is to survive.

One game isn’t going to make that difference. A lot of these shooters like Splitgate come and go all the time. 343i already has explained their already positive solution to micro-transactions and BPs.

6

> 2535436322352331;1:
>

See Splitgate is gaining popularity because it wants to stand out, vs blend in with the crowd. 343i philosophy has been to focus on the neighbor’s yard vs their own.

Evolution and Modernizing is taking what came before and improving upon it. We have yet to see 343i improve upon the Commendation system from Reach, despite them adding multiple new medals. We have yet to see more game modes or an improvement to Invasion from Reach.
We have yet to have Social and Ranked playlists in depth on launch like with Halo 3. We have yet to see 343i utilize Halo 3’s mechanics in an innovating way. (Example would be to increase base movement, jumps don’t feel as floaty, and a separation of duel wieldable weapons vs single use ones. The problem with H3 was that certain weapons only felt effective once duel wielded)
Instead 343i has done their best to take other shooter’s mechanics and blend them into Halo while the Halo experience in terms of features and gameplay has become more and more stale with each new title under 343i.

We already know the game wont be finished on release and its highly likely we will still have bugs, yet we have a battle pass system. Once again monetization was resourced before stability and features.
It will be hard for 343i because no playable elites, duel wielding, firefight and so on. Casuals are what populate the game the most yet 343i isn’t realizing or ignoring the fact that Halo has always been a game about fun and bringing people together. But 343i continues to isolate and segregate certain members of the community.

7

> 2535436322352331;1:
> A little arena shooter called “Splitgate” is gaining momentum. The game is currently in beta, but it already has six times the population of the MCC. At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for Halo, and when playing, it even feels somewhat like it. The gameplay comes with an innovative twist though: the ability to create portals, just like in the Valve game.
>
> Now am I advertising the game here? No. I wanted to remind 343 how fierce the competition is. Please, 343, deliver the game we want. Listen to the community, always. The move to F2P opened opportunities, but also a whole world of threats. Since MP will be free, the consumer has nothing to lose when they leave the game. Go easy on the monetization whenever possible, follow the voice of the consumer right here on Waypoint, and put Halo back into the spotlight, where it should be.

ehhh, I dont really think the need to worry. At the end of the day, the game are pretty different and realisitcally, once infinite gets going splitgate wont be able to keep up with the content releases. That is honestly the biggest issue its gonna run into.

Do I want the game to remain popular? 100%. I want all games to be successful. Do I think it will remain successful? No. It will for awhile but the small team will hinder them in the long run. Their compition realistically is not splitgate, its cod and BF as much as people dont want to admit it. Why? Cause all 3 are big names and players are so superficial that is all that matters to draw players attention. Splitgate blew up cause of tiktok. Sadly, I do think its a game that will only survive because of streamers and social media. Once the big games come out, that is all that will take up those channels

8

I have 0 interest in it because of ther portals tbh. Controlling key map locations is a huge part of Halo. People ragged hardcore on H5 because they though the advanced movement mechanics de-emphasized map control points.

Being able to literally drop a teleporter anywhere on the map and go straight there from anywhere else seems like those same people should be horribly against Splitgate’s gameplay to me.

9

Why should they be worried about Splitgate when it’s mostly Halo players just waiting for Infinite?

10

Great some new competitor has entered the arena sweet!

11

Oh no a game different from Halo? How how will we survive this madness!

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> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> See Splitgate is gaining popularity because it wants to stand out, vs blend in with the crowd. 343i philosophy has been to focus on the neighbor’s yard vs their own.

Except almost everyone is praising Infinite for playing like a classic. Its the most Halo since 3. Its better than Reach.

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> We have yet to see 343i improve upon the Commendation system from Reach, despite them adding multiple new medals.

We’ve also yet to see anyone really want that, honestly. Commendations were nice but nonessential.

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> We have yet to see more game modes or an improvement to Invasion from Reach.

343 have added new game modes. Ex: Ricochet/Warzone/Regicide/Dominion.

They just haven’t been as popular. Invasion hasn’t been possible.

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> We have yet to have Social and Ranked playlists in depth on launch like with Halo 3. We have yet to see 343i utilize Halo 3’s mechanics in an innovating way. (Example would be to increase base movement, jumps don’t feel as floaty, and a separation of duel wieldable weapons vs single use ones.

No, 343 have failed to deliver content on launch but Infinite utilises Halo 3 mechanics of equipment, evolving slope jumps into slide mechanics, increasing the base movement speed in Infinite.

And bungie didn’t even continue with dual weild. Its cool but, not good for the game.

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> Instead 343i has done their best to take other shooter’s mechanics and blend them into Halo while the Halo experience in terms of features and gameplay has become more and more stale with each new title under 343i.

You’re right, 343 did follow trends with 4 & 5 but have you been living under a rock? Infinite’s reception is overwhelmingly positive.

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> We already know the game wont be finished on release and its highly likely we will still have bugs, yet we have a battle pass system.

We don’t know that. All evidence suggests otherwise considering they even said they were content complete ages ago.

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> Once again monetization was resourced before stability and features.
> It will be hard for 343i because no playable elites, duel wielding, firefight and so on. Casuals are what populate the game the most yet 343i isn’t realizing or ignoring the fact that Halo has always been a game about fun and bringing people together. But 343i continues to isolate and segregate certain members of the community.

Stability? We saw a tech preview and are unaware of the full extent of Infinites features. We don’t know there won’t be firefight either. Infinite is looking to very casual friendly! Your entire argument is assumptions.

Elite players make up less than 1% of the halo player populace. And 343 doesn’t ‘segregate’ and ‘isolate’. That’s just silly.

13

> 2614366390849210;8:
> I have 0 interest in it because of ther portals tbh. Controlling key map locations is a huge part of Halo. People ragged hardcore on H5 because they though the advanced movement mechanics de-emphasized map control points.
>
> Being able to literally drop a teleporter anywhere on the map and go straight there from anywhere else seems like those same people should be horribly against Splitgate’s gameplay to me.

To be fair, the portals can only be spawned in set places in your direct line of sight. The game is fun, but also pretty gimmicky. I haven’t played since their servers collapsed. I was pretty much only playing for their version of Halo’s Elimination playlist which is dead.

It definitely isn’t a Halo killer for me. I’d rather play Halo 5 while waiting for Infinite than that. When Infinite drops I’ll probably never play H5 or Splitgate again. Might play some MCC for nostalgia purposes but I’m hoping Infinite replaces that too.

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> 2533275034282083;9:
> Why should they be worried about Splitgate when it’s mostly Halo players just waiting for Infinite?

Same…

15

> 2533274975565198;2:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> > Now am I advertising the game here? No. I wanted to remind 343 how fierce the competition is. Please, 343, deliver the game we want. Listen to the community, always. The move to F2P opened opportunities, but also a whole world of threats. Since MP will be free, the consumer has nothing to lose when they leave the game. Go easy on the monetization whenever possible, follow the voice of the consumer right here on Waypoint, and put Halo back into the spotlight, where it should be.
>
> These are some wise words although we’ll see if this warning is heeded. From what we saw with armor coatings in the battle pass, cR as premium currency, and paid XP boosters/ challenge swappers I’d hazard a guess and say it won’t. The armor coating system alone had a better method of being added, while preserving the original color selection system which didn’t happen. That in conjunction with 343i being so bold as to put loot boxes as the sole means of progression in Halo 5 things are looking grim on the monetization front. While it’s too early to definitively say, there are certainly red flags being raised.

they already said no lootboxes in Infinite.

16

> 2535436322352331;1:
> A little arena shooter called “Splitgate” is gaining momentum. The game is currently in beta, but it already has six times the population of the MCC. At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for Halo, and when playing, it even feels somewhat like it. The gameplay comes with an innovative twist though: the ability to create portals, just like in the Valve game.
>
> Now am I advertising the game here? No. I wanted to remind 343 how fierce the competition is. Please, 343, deliver the game we want. Listen to the community, always. The move to F2P opened opportunities, but also a whole world of threats. Since MP will be free, the consumer has nothing to lose when they leave the game. Go easy on the monetization whenever possible, follow the voice of the consumer right here on Waypoint, and put Halo back into the spotlight, where it should be.

Most of the people playing Splitgate are Halo players who went “oh -Yoink-, Halo+Portal? I’ll play this till Infinite comes out!” so I don’t think they’ll have to worry too much. Still, they have to be wary on how they monetize the game. The exclusion of gambling-based purchases is already a huge improvement, but they have to focus on getting the prices correct. If the prices in the flight are what they’ll be like in the final game and a pack of 2000cR is $20, Infinite will do really well on this front.

17

ngl after playing both I thought Splitgate was actually more refreshing, but then again Splitgate was running at 60fps while Infinite was at 30.

I think having constant access to the innovative “ability” was nice. In Infinite you have less interaction with their innovations due to them being a pickup. I think that’s why Halo 5 was refreshing to me at the time (with thrust).

18

> 2533274902469708;6:
> > 2535436322352331;1:
> >
>
> See Splitgate is gaining popularity because it wants to stand out, vs blend in with the crowd. 343i philosophy has been to focus on the neighbor’s yard vs their own.
>
> Evolution and Modernizing is taking what came before and improving upon it. We have yet to see 343i improve upon the Commendation system from Reach, despite them adding multiple new medals. We have yet to see more game modes or an improvement to Invasion from Reach.
> We have yet to have Social and Ranked playlists in depth on launch like with Halo 3. We have yet to see 343i utilize Halo 3’s mechanics in an innovating way. (Example would be to increase base movement, jumps don’t feel as floaty, and a separation of duel wieldable weapons vs single use ones. The problem with H3 was that certain weapons only felt effective once duel wielded)
> Instead 343i has done their best to take other shooter’s mechanics and blend them into Halo while the Halo experience in terms of features and gameplay has become more and more stale with each new title under 343i.
>
> We already know the game wont be finished on release and its highly likely we will still have bugs, yet we have a battle pass system. Once again monetization was resourced before stability and features.
> It will be hard for 343i because no playable elites, duel wielding, firefight and so on. Casuals are what populate the game the most yet 343i isn’t realizing or ignoring the fact that Halo has always been a game about fun and bringing people together. But 343i continues to isolate and segregate certain members of the community.

Splitgate definitely has potential but I really don’t think the game is that unique, Halo is obviously a massive inspiration for the way that game looks and plays. From the multiplayer announcer to the guns, and the player models. You really think Splitgate isn’t taking from other franchises and presenting them in their own way?

19

> 2533274937939153;15:
> > 2533274975565198;2:
> > > 2535436322352331;1:
> > > Now am I advertising the game here? No. I wanted to remind 343 how fierce the competition is. Please, 343, deliver the game we want. Listen to the community, always. The move to F2P opened opportunities, but also a whole world of threats. Since MP will be free, the consumer has nothing to lose when they leave the game. Go easy on the monetization whenever possible, follow the voice of the consumer right here on Waypoint, and put Halo back into the spotlight, where it should be.
> >
> > These are some wise words although we’ll see if this warning is heeded. From what we saw with armor coatings in the battle pass, cR as premium currency, and paid XP boosters/ challenge swappers I’d hazard a guess and say it won’t. The armor coating system alone had a better method of being added, while preserving the original color selection system which didn’t happen. That in conjunction with 343i being so bold as to put loot boxes as the sole means of progression in Halo 5 things are looking grim on the monetization front. While it’s too early to definitively say, there are certainly red flags being raised.
>
> they already said no lootboxes in Infinite.

I know. I only mentioned them as they were included in a previous title which in of itself is pretty brazen which ties into their current monetization appearing to be heavy handed once again except it’s in another form

20

I created this thread to remind 343, that they cannot afford to mess it up with their community. Not for the third time. I did not intend to say Splitgate is the Halo killer, some here misunderstood that. Halo has lost a lot of relevance since the 360 days, and numerous competitors have taken the chance and filled the void.

Scoffing and not taking the competition seriously is the path downhill. Instead, 343 must watch other products closely, learn what they are doing right and what wrong. The number of games offering extremely fleshed-out content even as F2P is dizzying. It is the MP model of the future. Even Battlefield 2042 is confirmed to feature F2P. The fans can’t carry the franchise alone, and even they might leave when 343 is not listening.