343 Community Manager John Junyszek announced on Twitter that new Halo multiplayer playlists are being added by the end of the year.
Junyszek mentioned that Fiesta, Tactical Slayer (SWAT), and Free-For-All are coming by years end, though not quite in time for December 8th. These will be welcome additions to Halo multiplayer and have been often requested by fans during the game’s beta period.
It was also mentioned that a Social Slayer playlist is in the works for Halo multiplayer, as its their most popular request. That won’t be available until after the holidays as the dev team will be making sure they get to enjoy some time off after the game’s launch.
Brian Jarrard, also known as ske7ch, addressed further concerns on the Halo subreddit. While there are some valid concerns regarding the current state of Halo multiplayer, members of the subreddit were overtly hostile to the point where it locked down over the weekend.
First, I’m going to stress that again I 100% understand and generally agree with the frustrations most are epxressing even if I don’t agree with the attacks and ways in which some choose to express those feelings. Call me a shill, a liar, corp speak, etc. as you want, but I’ve never lied to this community and never will. And I’m not saying myself [and] 343 are a ‘victim’ in any way – that’s yet another narrative some folks here have chosen to apply. It’s my job to come in here, listen, frank[l]y take it on the chin, and despite personally being very put off by the way in which many are expressing themselves, still ensure that we are advocating for players internally. We do that regardless of it being positive or negative and we always will.
As for Slayer itself – we’re still having discussions around feasibility. Yes thi sis absolutely a hot topic and something the team is aware of. We would love to have modes and experiences that meet player expectations vs. the backlash situation we’re in today. I don’t believe anyone at 343 thought not having Slayer was a ‘good idea.’
…The launch playslists were stup as they were to take a measured approach. We have UI limitatiosn with the game right now in the way and number of playlists that are exposed. We have complex and not-ideal progression and challenge systems intertwined in playlists and modes that are not necessarily trivial to de-couple and change. (yes the entire challenge/progression system needs a lot of work – something the team is acutely aware of and prioritizing).
Source: Halo Subreddit
It looks like 343 has been using this beta period for Halo multiplayer to address what’s needed and send out updates to improve the game. More importantly, they’re also ensuring this is done while making sure the dev team gets to enjoy the holiday breaks.
Once these updates go live, we’ll be sure to address them in our Multiplayer review for Halo Infinite.
