First off I do appreciate the quick response solutions that are being implemented, and as the community managers have said they will need more time for bigger changes. Clear, but also let’s not stop the feedback and criticism, just because we now at least have a decent way to earn XP.
The monetization is still far to egregious, just the fact that stuff that is being advertised as battle pass is behind a pay wall. All the broken promises from earlier presentations of the battle pass system in this game. So many promises that are turning out to be untrue. I can’t help but think that whoever did all this knew exactly what they are doing, the devs probably just wanna make a good game but than some exec comes in with it’s greedy bs.
I feel like Phil Spencer and his team should step in, because what kinda look does this give for the Xbox Brand if its biggest flagship franchise is known for greed and tone deafness? I’d sorta expect Xbox to mandate a lesser level of MXP in their top tier franchises to provide a safe anti-FOMO environment where we can game without being taken advantage of. Basically what i’m saying is that we expect stuff like this from Activision but not from a Microsoft Studio itself.
We’ve just had a 20 anniversary of Xbox, this game should be a celebration of the carefree, fulfilled, pinnacle of gaming as a standard set by Halo 1, 2 & 3. But what we consistently get is a knife in the back. Just for once I’d like a big franchise nowadays to stop taking advantage of the trust placed upon them. Just once I’d like to feel not being nickeled and dimed for every little thing. Certainly as a Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber I’d expect to be taken care of better, than I am being right know. Which brings it back to Xbox needing to step in and consider the damage to the overal brand being done by some 343 or perhaps Xbox execs.
Another important point, Halo not only should feel familiar to it’s loyal fans. But should be a warm bath for any newcomer to the platform, historically speaking that is what it used to be. A killer app, a poster game to lure people to the platform who are curious and needing to be wow’d. Campaign hopefully lives up to this but Multiplayer with this greedy greedy monetization certainly doesn’t do that, instead it preys on FOMO and leaves loyal fans hanging.
Other you tubers have also said that this is new to Halo fans since they haven’t experienced monetization like this, which is incorrect. But more importantly I feel we let ourselves be heard so clearly because this isn’t just another franchise, this is the franchise that for many was the introduction to gaming at the level we have come to expect. And for the better part of a decade we have been let down. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!