Halo Infinite Will Be A 'Spiritual Reboot,' Says 343 Industries Head

TheGamer

By Cody Orme

Published Mar 1, 2019

According to 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross, the devs have learned from previous mistakes and want Halo Infinite to be a "spiritual reboot."

Halo Infinite will be a "spiritual reboot," according to 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross.

This news was confirmed in an interview with IGN, in which Ross stated that the next entry in Microsoft's flagship series will effectively be Halo 6. She also acknowledged that there may have been some fumbles in Halo 4 and 5. However, after working on the Master Chief collection, 343 feels like it has been able to recognize what made the series great.

"We're kind of calling it a 'spiritual reboot...,'" Ross said. "I look at Infinite as we're going to put the whole thing together... [the] story is incredibly important and so is multiplayer. We have audiences that champion both sides — and then a lot of them that like both of them."

No announced date has been given, but speculation has suggested that the game could be a launch title for a new Xbox console. Ross stated that 343 Industries is more focused on producing a quality game than rushing a product for a new platform.

With that in mind, the team has been mulling over different additions to the game. 343 Industries has considered the idea of adding in a battle royale mode, and with the success of Apex Legends, it seems like a perfect fit. Ross even admitted as much, suggesting that Halo's open multiplayer format could lend itself nicely to such a mode. However, this decision is ultimately up to Microsoft.

What all this will mean for the end product remains to be seen, but going back to the drawing board while introducing some new concepts could be a welcome shot in the arm for Halo. Upon its release in 2012, Halo 4 was met with mixed reactions from fans who criticized the game's multiplayer, while others seemed to enjoy the story. The fifth entry fared even worse, as fans were upset about the lack of co-op gameplay. However, the Masterchief Collection was the perfect mix of nostalgia and new ideas, which kept many fans happy. Even with those previous missteps, though, Infinite's reveal at E3 2018 was met with a lot of excitement.

With so little known about the next entry in the series, it's nice to get some information on where the studio's mindset is during development. This is Xbox's big gun, so we're hoping for something special.

Plans are in place to show more at E3 2019, so hopefully we will soon have a clearer picture of what Ross means when she says the new title will be a "spiritual reboot."