Halo Infinite: One of the biggest forums was closed over the weekend after death threats

Although Halo Infinite has been mostly well received, there are parts of the community that are pretty frantic. It went so far that the Halo subreddit was closed for the weekend. MeinMMO explains what’s going on right now.

What happens at Halo Infinite? Although Halo Infinite will officially only be released on December 8th, the Free2Play multiplayer has been playable for free as a beta for everyone on Steam and Xbox since November 15th.

At first, the reactions were mostly good to exuberant, but then there was also a lot of criticism of the structure of the Battle Pass and the general progress system.

• Players criticized that leveling the Battle Pass was way too time consuming.
• Also, there wouldn’t be enough rewards for players who don’t want to spend money on the pass.
• For example, there is criticism of strange design decisions for cosmetic items, such as the colors of the Spartan armor, which you have to unlock individually and can no longer freely choose.
• Players also have problems with cheaters and would therefore like to deactivate the crossplay function.

The last straw came with the revelation that some popular game modes are already in the game but not yet available online in the multiplayer playlists. In total, the “hidden” modes are apparently 14 pieces that are not yet available online. (via PCGamer.com)

Especially in the subreddit, numerous fans vented their anger and probably exceeded the limits of good behavior. It apparently went so far that the forum had to be closed over the past weekend.

Moderators prescribe a “break”, developers comment on death threats and critics

Why exactly was the subreddit closed? Apparently there was not only simple criticism of the game in the past few days, but also death threats and doxxing. The latter describes when people illegally access the victims’ data and make it public.

As a result, personal data from Halo developers were apparently disclosed and called for murder. That led to the relatively drastic step of closing the subreddit over the past weekend.

The moderators made a statement that is no longer available. However, other sites such as PCGamer.com or Kotaku.com recorded the statements.

So it said:

The amount of toxicity on the sub from both sides has made it impossible for people to have civil discussion, which is what the mod team is aiming for regardless of opinion. Some users in the sub were even responsible for doxxing and death threats. […] We have temporarily banned the sub so hopefully people calm down a bit and we do before that [offiziellen] Start can press the reset button. After all, this is a video game and this level of malice is not justified.

via Kotaku.com

It was emphasized that one did not want to silence critics, but that the way the criticism got completely out of hand. In the meantime (as of December 6th) the subreddit is online again.

In an extensive post, the community director Brian “ske7ch” Jarrard commented on the criticism and the threats. (via redthis)

This is what the Halo makers say: ske7ch is very clear and emotional in his post. He accepted the criticism of the modes and the Game Pass and emphasized that he agreed with a lot and was also not satisfied with the current status.

First of all, let me reiterate that I 100% understand and generally agree with the frustrations that most express, even if I, with the attacks and the way some express these feelings, I disagree. Call me a decoy, a liar, corporate spokesman, etc., whatever you want, but I’ve never lied to this community and I never will. And I’m not saying that I or 343 are in any way a “victim” – that’s just another narrative some people are trying to use here.

ske7ch via reddit

The team is working to improve the game and will do so as soon as possible. Still, he asks to take a deep breath and respect the people behind the game:

Everyone has a right to their opinion. It is your prerogative to play or not to play. I’d rather have people who are so passionate that they yell at us than someone who doesn’t care at all. But I just ask people to take a deep breath and understand that there are people behind this who invest years of their lives trying to have the best experiences they can and not rushing to judge or assume that you can has already understood everything.

ske7ch via reddit

But there are still no exact updates on what changes the developers will make to appease the critics. However, various game modes have already been confirmed that will soon come into play.

This includes modes like Slayer, SWAT, and other fan favorites.

Whether that will happen before the official release of Halo Infinite and its campaign remains to be seen. After all, a few changes have already been made to the progress in the Battle Pass.

So now there is at least more XP after games.

But what do you think of the matter? Do you also have similar problems with Halo Infinite? Or do you think the criticism is excessive? How do you feel about the developers’ statement?