That said, I realize it is on the managers of 343’s heads that the game is the way it is now. We can go back and forth about this all day, but in the end, the decisions that kill this franchise come from the people at Microsoft that care only for the short term profit, rather than the long term investment those short term decisions affect. If they can’t “learn” from the mistakes they’ve made in the past, it is because there are other factors at play. Usually, those factors come from the publisher, rather than the developer, and as a consequence, those developers can’t say or do anything out of fear that they will be replaced by someone much worse for the health of the company. After what happened to Bungie under Activision, I think you can get the point.
343 themselves need to be vocal to their bosses at Microsoft if they want to right the ship before it goes belly up for good. I don’t doubt that they won’t, but it is what they need to do. Being told to listen to the most-moneyed and loudest voices for the entirety of their time with the franchise, and then having to tell their community otherwise, even those they specifically brought on to advise them about what the community (THE community, not the “pros” who care only for esports supremacy, not the outliers that pay the most money or sing the most praises) wants.
I’m sick of people complaining without giving constructive feedback, and the developers going out of their way to avoid having to tell the truth about what is killing their resolve and ability to make the game how they want it. Just be honest, just be open, and don’t allow your personal life leak into your opinions about a -Yoink!- video game. And 343? Either fire your management staff or go on strike against Microsoft. I don’t care what it takes to get things done for real, just do it for the franchise you want to love creating.