Halo Infinite – the highly anticipated
sequel of the most prominent Xbox franchise – will come out in the fall, most
likely in November. According to the latest reports, Microsoft and 343
Industries are rumoured to be pouring over $500 million into the development of
the game, making the newest Halo continuation the most expensive project in the
history of the video game industry.
The massive budget of more than $500 million
will be solely directed to the game’s development and doesn’t include marketing
costs.
It sounds surreal, particularly for those of
us who recall that the developers of Destiny also cited a staggering budget. In
2013, it was announced that Destiny was the most expensive video game project,
only to be revealed later that two-thirds of the budget was for promotional
activities.
If these rumors turn out to be legit, it
will be great news for esports fans as Halo has been stealing their hearts for
quite some time now. Also, esports betting has become a boon for the gambling
industry. We expect that the sports betting juggernauts like William Hill, who
already makes an estimated $2.37
billion in revenue, will also benefit from the upcoming Halo
game.
With its $500 million budget, Halo Infinite
will surpass Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto 5 by Rockstar Games in
terms of development costs. In fact, even the most expensive shooter games
created such as Destiny and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 didn’t have budgets
of more than $290 million.
Microsoft has yet to confirm the rumors, and
the Xbox Dynasty hasn’t provided any proof to back up its claim. This means that
the reports about the Halo Infinite development should be taken with a grain of
salt. However, even if we take the record-breaking $500 million amount off the
table, a significant Microsoft investment into developing the latest Halo
addition would make perfect sense.
Halo Infinite was announced at E3 2018 through a teaser that showed glimpses of
Master Chief’s iconic helmet. It was also revealed then that the game was being
created with a new engine known as Slipspace Engine. According to Bonnie Ross,
the head of 343 Industries,
the Slipspace Engine was designed not only to help the developers but also to
preserve the future and scope of the Halo dynasty as a whole.
In an interview last month, Ross said that
the studio thinks that Halo Infinite will “rejuvenate” the franchise. Hopefully,
this upcoming E3 event will finally display Halo Infinite in action and
highlight the power that comes with Slipspace. Also, according to some previous
reports, the game will be compatible with next-gen Xbox consoles (codenamed
Anaconda and Lockhart) which will reportedly be revealed at the event.
If we take the importance of Halo Infinite
into account, the rumors of Microsoft giving 343 Industries $500 million to
develop the game are possible. Unfortunately, until someone from Microsoft
officially confirms this, Halo fans can only hope that the reports are true so
that the latest Halo continuation will live up to the
hype.
