Hopium Alert: This concept is purely speculation and is solely my own opinion. To ease my mind on the current state of Halo Infinite, I have looked into the current situation with an optimistic and cautious view. To save myself and hopefully you some frustration and stress, we need to be aware that we are undoubtedly playing an unofficial Beta of Halo Infinite. Please reference the Wikipedia definitions of Alpha and Beta for Video Games below.
Alpha
Alpha is the stage when key gameplay functionality is implemented, and assets are partially finished. A game in alpha is feature complete , that is, the game is playable and contains all the major features. These features may be further revised based on testing and feedback. Additional small, new features may be added, and similarly planned, but unimplemented features may be dropped. Programmers focus mainly on finishing the codebase, rather than implementing additions.
Beta
Beta is feature and asset complete version of the game, when only bugs are being fixed. This version contains no bugs that prevent the game from being shippable. No changes are made to the game features, assets, or code.
Look familiar? One could argue that we are indeed somewhere between the two, but in no way are we out of the Beta stage. You are not playing Infinite, you are testing it.
So where does this leave us? The silence and deliberate miscommunication from 343 leads me to believe there is a lot of work and content being held back for reveal at a later date. I understand the implications of what a pandemic and a diminishing workforce have plagued upon them, this is their main excuse for the lack of new and exciting content. But surely content is being created by a AAA studio, we just may not be seeing it for a reason.
Currently, it would be ignorant to believe they have no plan and are just building the plane as they fly. They are not going to abandon this game and start from scratch, this is it. I believe they absolutely do not care right now about player counts, player complaints, quality of life, etc. for if they re-launch (to a larger audience) the Beta testers (us) will be just that, Beta testers, tools to craft the final experience. When Infinite is actually finished, it is likely that millions of dollars will be spent on a new marketing campaign in an attempt to revive the player base and attract them to a new fully functional Halo experience.
At this point, I encourage you to shift your mindset and view the early days of Infinite as the time that you tested the game as a Beta, and your feedback is helping create the final game. This is one player’s speculation and only time will tell if this game becomes abandoned, stays on life support, or has a revitalizing soft re-launch during a future season. So, what is your opinion on the future of Halo Infinite?