Infinite possibilities for Halo esports development

William Davis Published 22/08/2021

Long gone are the days of sitting in school huddled around that one friend’s laptop watching the latest Top Ten ESPN/MLG Halo 3 video on YouTube. But it’s hard to forget Chris Puckett’s commentary, which delivered the energy of a thousand cans of Monster on top of some truly stunning no-scopes, brutal exterminations, and mind-blowing multi-kills. 

Those were halcyon days for Halo, which was last featured in a full MLG season back in 2011. While competitive play has continued since, Master Chief and his mates have clearly been surpassed in the esports FPS field by Counter-Strike and others, including Call of Duty more recently. However, could Infinite signal a comeback for Halo as a top-tier esports title? 

One interesting development is 343’s announcement that competitive online Halo Infinite play will be cross-play and cross-input. That means that, just like the current set-up with the Halo Master Chief Collection that allows Xbox/PC cross-play, Halo Infinite tournament and online event play will feature the PC master race pitting their wits against Xbox gamers. Players are free to use gamepads or mouse/keyboards as they wish. 

The aim is to remove barriers to entry and to get Battle Rifles into the hands of as many people as possible. Halo Infinite has the advantage of being able to leverage on a super-strong IP, with thousands still playing online via Halo MCC almost 14 years after the launch of Halo 3. However, building up a loyal player base among players who were too young to properly experience Halo during the Chris Puckett-fuelled glory era is crucial as these are the players driving the esports revolution more broadly, so making it accessible is a good move.

Another thing that could work in Halo Infinite’s favour but that isn’t directly related to the game itself is Activision’s seeming reluctance to address the consistent cheating and hacking that goes on in COD and Warzone. This isn’t necessarily something that is going to affect the elite esports players but audience engagement is key for esports and if more and more casual players are being put off COD by these sorts of issues, then the knock-on effects are clear. 

Halo Infinite will not come close to the popularity of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a top-tier esports FPS title. You only have to look at top betting sites to see how many major CSGO tournaments are ongoing and open for betting on at any time to get a feel for its dominance. However, Halo could take a chunk of market share away from other competitors in this space if it ticks all the right boxes after launch. A return to the Top Ten days of old could well be on.

Read Also

Movies & TV

Will The Batman Part II Be Delayed Again? Zachary Roberts The Batman: Part II has already been delayed three times. It was supposed to come out this month, actually. Three delays later, though, and it's on the slate for February 2028, which would be almost six years to the month after the first movie. Is it going to be delayed again? Movie fans live in fear of that very thing in these uncertain times. Any piece of art, including video ...

Kick

Nigerian Musician Davido Joins Kick: Here’s What We Know Khizar Mundia Afrobeats star David “Davido” Adedeji Adeleke has joined livestreaming platform Kick and expressed his intention to begin a new part of his career. Kick has previously revealed that the platform has stepped back from signing streamers with large deals and also stopped encouraging gambling content. Both announcements were met with widely positive reactions, as there was much criticism regarding casino streaming and many people believed huge deals led to streamers ...

Dota 2

BLAST SLAM VIII Finals predictions and preview Michael Hassall It’s been a long road, but after a strangely-formatted group stage, and a decidedly anticlimactic playoffs, we’re down to the final three teams in BLAST SLAM VIII. The finals are today (Oct. 11) and we’ll see the premier teams in Dota 2 clash. Perhaps disappointingly, we’re not seeing a new wave of top-teams at the pinnacle of Dota 2 competition, with the three final teams being the same trio we’ve ...

Twitch

Kai Cenat Reveals Japan IRL Tour and Says He Wants To Go to Space Khizar Mundia Twitch star Kai Cenat has recently expanded his content to include IRL tours, and Japan is next on the list of places he will be heading it seems. The American kicked off his Exploring the Unexplored IRL series with Iceland, reportedly becoming the first streamer to broadcast from inside a volcano. This was a massive accomplishment, but just a few days later Cenat became embroiled in controversy with Reginald “Reggie” Travers. ...

News

NFL petitions U.S. Supreme Court for clarity on prediction markets Michael Hassall The heat is officially on for prediction market operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket as the NFL, one of the United States’ biggest sports leagues, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the classification of prediction markets. In a brief filed late on Thursday (Oct. 8), the National Football League (NFL) backed the state of New Jersey’s request for the U.S.’s highest legal entity to review whether ...

GTA

Lacy Reveals GTA 6 Marathon Plans and Monthly Income Breakdown Khizar Mundia Nick “Lacy” Fosco recently made headlines after announcing he would disable Twitch ads on his streams. Now, the streamer has revealed plans for an upcoming GTA 6 marathon, alongside a breakdown of his monthly earnings and expenses.. Lacy is in the news frequently, whether it's because of his relationship, drama with other streamers, or even leaving CORE. The creator recently also limited his Twitch ads significantly after starting, saying that ...

News

Crypto Casino Stake To Launch In Alberta, Canada Khizar Mundia Stake co-founder Eddie Craven made an X post announcing that the casino has secured licensing approval in Alberta, Canada, and will be launching its services in the new location imminently. Crypto casino Stake is one of the most popular gambling sites, with livestreaming platform Kick having been a major marketing force for it over the years. Both platforms are owned by co-founders Eddie Craven and Bijan Tehrani. While Kick has ...