Halo Infinite dev discusses "forging new roads while respecting a legacy"

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To Halo Infinite, and beyond

In a new developer diary, 343 Industries discussed its vision for Halo Infinite and the future of the Halo franchise, including ways to evolve its development process and integrate player feedback. 

The video opens with a thesis statement of sorts: "It's a delicate balance of forging new roads while respecting a legacy." This sentiment is echoed by multiple 343 Industries staffers, from studio head Bonnie Ross to individual department directors. 

"I got an opportunity not just to steward this franchise," Ross says, "but to think about the canvas we wanted to create where we could tell stories for the next two decades in this epic sci-fi world that I love." 

"We have to be able to respect that legacy that we've come from to help make sure that Halo doesn't just become an amalgamation of what the market is currently doing, but that what makes halo unique remains unique for our players, our community, and for the industry," design head Jerry Hook says. 

(Image credit: 343 Industries)

Studio head Chris Lee introduces another key point of the dev diary: how the studio's development pipeline evolved to support Halo Infinite. "We've really thought about how we can build Halo Infinite while bringing in the community and the players into our development process along the way," he says. 

Technical director David Berger adds that "You have to make tools that allow you to make new features that maybe weren't thought about. You've got to give the content creators room to ideate outside of that." Multiplayer director Tom French stresses the benefits of these tools, adding that "Designers are more empowered themselves to actually prototype something quicker and faster than we've ever been able to before." 

Between the Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite, one of the most anticipated upcoming Xbox Series X games, it's clear 343 Industries has battened down the hatches when it comes to Halo development.

"We now have the tools to bring this world and universe to life in a way that we only dreamed of with Halo 4," Ross says. "And when I look at where we're going with infinite, it does feel like we're just getting started." 

Halo infinite will see Master Chief attempt to reclaim the FPS throne.  

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.