Before I give any feedback I do want to make it a point to mention, this is by far 343i’s best game, the core gameplay is rock solid and it is incredibly fun to play. I’ve been playing Halo since CE first came out, (saying that makes me feel really old, or… depending on how you look at it, way too young to have been playing CE when it arrived) and even after all these years remain a big fan and happily call Halo my favorite game
With than being said, I can honestly say that the overall monetization scheme of this game feels incredibly disappointing, predatory, and off-putting.
I feel disappointed because I put blind faith in the devs, that they wouldn’t make a predatory system after everything that happened with Halo 5 and yet, this somehow feels worse than Halo 5’s. I’ll attempt to break it down as best I can:
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Monetization pricing/separating things from the battle pass, I think is incredibly pressing that has and is fundamentally changing the way people think about Halo as a title. I have always thought about Halo as a game above the rest. However, because of the way this game has been monetized it literally make it feel like a non-battle royal warzone, Fortnite, or mobile game. It is crucial to immediately stop adding items to the store which are cooler than items in the battle pass. This is extremely off-putting, feels very money grubby and honestly rude, it literally feels like 343i’s way of giving fans the finger for buying the battle pass and everyone sees right through this.
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Now I realize money needs to be made so how can this be done? Throughout this feedback I have included a bunch of different ways to monetize the multiplayer while still putting the player first, which is necessary anyway because if the player is not put first then they will stop playing, which then is bad for shareholders. A player first mentality geared towards value also creates a way to make content last longer and therefore elongates the lifespan of the game (10 years actually meaning 10 years). Right now It does not feel like there is any value in the battle pass. If the current multiplayer monetization system does not change the game’s player base will decrease and people likely just won’t buy anything.
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For example, on day one I bought a credit pack to unlock the battle pass and future passes, then I see that items in the store are prohibitively more expensive than the pass and (for some) store items are way cooler than anything even in the pass… this just makes no sense, and - for lack of a better phrase - feels like you did me dirty. Everyone sees this as being incredibly greedy and personally I refuse to spend any more money on the game after this. I don’t even know that I will get the next battle pass, and to be perfectly honest I want a refund. Especially since I bought credits day one and now, they are cheaper than what I paid so, at the very least I feel I am owed $10.
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The progression system, or of lack there of. More specifically there is no ranking system for playing the game in social, this (for most) is a bummer. There’s many things that could be done to duct tape and Band-Aid this but those options will never really fix the issue.
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Another (arguably better) option is just to scrap it and follow the MCC template in a hybrid kind of way. Get rid of the store or make it’s only purpose used for buying the battle pass. Instead have all the customization items currently in and scheduled for the store (armors/coatings/effects, etc.) be the reward for completing capstone/seasonal challenges, but also make them more attainable. The goal here is to incentivize players to just play the game a lot, but not be pissed that they have to do it in a specific way. It should encourage player freedom and reward positive behaviors. Doing it like this also puts more emphasis on battle pass progression while working towards harder challenges (ie, capstone/premium seasonal ones) and lengthens the relevance of content. That would literally mean what’s been made already will last longer, the best part is people wouldn’t notice and would be happier because of the value and ability to obtain it through playing. There could be 10 weekly challenges then capstone, or just capstone and it’s based on something that promotes player freedom. Get rid of daily challenges and move to an XP per match system (calculated by match performance).
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As for Ranking system and Battle pass/progression through both, an idea would be - every 10 ranks, the increasing XP needed for next rank progression resets almost like a mini prestige. This can be intertwined with the battle pass without making them conflicting things, it would also allow for some flexibility when changing which battle pass is turned on without changing rank. Most importantly, it would reward consistent progression, so people don’t feel it is taking too long.
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What about the money? Charge more for the battle pass and people will buy it IF, AND ONLY IF THERE IS VALUE. Everything I mentioned above will add a significant amount of that. Final step is just charge a fair price, some people won’t buy anything regardless but I’d think most people will. Having a strong happy player base = millions of players buying something every 3ish months, which adds up pretty quick. 10 Years later those profits might amount to less than what is currently projected (even if savings from changes are taken into account) but if the monetization system doesn’t move away from its current model, those recent profit projections will be grossly overestimated.
If I recall the idea behind creating this system was to give players that ‘just one more game feeling’, however, the current setup literally does the opposite of that and makes it feel like a chore. If that ‘one more game feeling’ is what’s being sought after, just rely on the core gameplay to create this. It’s more than enough and the best bonus is rewarding players for enjoying it in their own way.
Lastly, to any devs/team members who that read this - Thank you! Thank you for hearing the community/fans. Thank you for all your hard work on this game and Thank you for creating something that truly is incredibly fun and special in so many ways. We all really appreciate it.