[2021] Unyshek gives an update on playlists

The team definitely has some ideas along these lines (and many others) - always just boils down to finite time / resources, dependencies, etc.. We'll get there. Match Composer for MCC is amazing, as is Custom Browser, all things that are somewhat development intensive with a number of dependencies but experientially, the type of systems I know the team has their eyes on.

Challenge tweaks are also still being evaluated for lower hanging/near term adjustments and we should have more to share soon. Longer term, more robust evolutions around progression and challenges are going to take time to realize.

I understand the sentiment, and things like events - for a F2P service based game - are certainly part of a continued engagement model. But there was no nefarious objective I was ever aware of to intentionally limit anything for the sake of 'drip feeding.' Instead it's a matter of realities of development, the unique challenges and complexities of building this game under some pretty difficult circumstances, wanting to ensure the most stable and solid experience possible out of the gate, and a real desire to just get this journey started, knowing that the game will continue to grow and evolve over time. Understand that doesn't necessarily align with everyone's expectations on day one, but the team shares the vast majority of feedback and sentiment coming in and as a studio we are pivoting to a service-based development team/model and will continue evolving and improving the game going forward, addressing issues as quickly and best we can while delivering new experiences when they're ready - all in a way that is healthy and sustainable for the team.

I can't reply to every person yelling at me/343 here so want to just share a few final things to take or leave as you see fit. When we have some updates to share I'll be back.

First, I'm going to stress again that I 100% understand and generally agree with the frustrations most are expressing 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 are 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, franky 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 always will.

As for Slayer itself - we're still having discussions around feasibility. Yes this is 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.'

I don't personally agree we 'owe' folks a detailed dissertation on 'what 343 has been doing the last 6 years' or 'who ever thought this was a good idea', etc.. We have had people working their asses off for years to try and deliver the best Halo game they can amidst very challenging circumstances. But, I will try to at least provide some context for those who are interested.

The launch playlists were setup as they were to take a measured approach. We have UI limitations 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).

The team's plans for a Slayer playlist, I think, are more robust than what might 'suffice' for an interim solution. I love the ideas and some of the variants they're working on - those all require tuning and most importantly - testing. QA is a huge dependency and it's a critical part of the development pipeline that has been running nonstop for months to launch this game.

We are re-evaluating what it would take to potentially just start with a 'vanilla Slayer' playlist as a shorter term addition until the more robust offering is ready. I think the main hurdle that needs to be addressed and may require more time than is feasible before the holiday break is the knock on effect to challenges and needing to also re-assess 'quick play' and what that becomes. Historically, a Slayer only playlist and an Objective only playlist has always resulted in the Obj playlist quickly becoming unhealthy - but maybe we inevitably have no choice but to go down that route until more robust systems are available (note I am not a MP or systems designer).

It's just not quite as trivial as 'pushing a button.' And at the scale and complexity of this game - any and every change could have monumental impact in a negative way without extensive testing. Triaging these feedback issues and finding 'what CAN we do now' is what the team is already doing and will continue doing. Everything has to be tested. Everything has downstream dependencies and knock on effects. And, we're 4 days from a global launch with holidays right after.

As far as the notion of this all being a ploy to force challenge swaps - it just isn't. I don't expect everyone to believe that, but while we may not agree with the playlist selections and approach, I'm just going to say again "making players have no control and have to use swaps" has never once been a thing I've heard. Ever. And again, we know this entire challenge system is not ideal and while I'm glad they've been able to make some interim tweaks to progression pace and remove some of the more frustrating RNG challenges, there is absolutely more work to be done and this is not the ideal vision the Live team has in mind. (though, more challenge tweaks are coming with the playlist update, details to come soon) I did not really enjoy having to grind through 20+ games of Quick Play to hopefully get Oddball so I could hopefully win 3 times to complete a challenge. Or, , having to get 10 Ravager kills. Is this week's Ultimate Reward of just an emblem really worth the grind? There's a lot of work to do - we are all in agreement there. A few more changes are coming this month and I hope we can start to lay out more robust plans after the break.

Not everyone likes that Infinite is a F2P game and thus has a new business model based on monetization of customization. I understand where you're coming from, especially with a 20 year established franchise with a longstanding legacy. F2P has been a huge boost to growing the player base and we've seen a huge amount of new players entering the franchise for the first time ever. But this is a business - the servers you play on cost money to operate. The studio that develops and maintains the game costs money. Battlepass and premium customization is the model for this game today. Is there room to continue assessing the overall economy and value for players? Absolutely and that's also an area the team is constantly monitoring and learning. The creation of cosmetics and the battlepass have absolutely nothing to do with something like a playlist. That content was created ages ago, is static, and wasn't done 'instead of playlists.' Was it a priority to make sure that this game could in fact generate revenue? Of course.

I'm starting to ramble here but the main TLDR is, for what it's worth, we're going to do what we can as soon as we can. If things today do not meet your expectations then I'm sorry you've been disappointed. I'm confident this game will continue to get better and better and all of these issues are fixable. I also realize that some players are just going to not play anymore - maybe they come back, maybe they don't. I also know - and want to be very up front and honest - that the pace at which bigger changes are brought to bear will absolutely not be as fast as many want. We have some problems, for sure, but I'm really proud of the foundation the team was able to deliver.

Everyone's entitled to their opinion. It's your prerogative to play or not play. I'd rather have people who are so passionate they're yelling at us than nobody caring at all. But I just ask that people please take a breath here, understand there are human beings behind this who put years of their lives into just trying to make the best experiences they can, and do not rush to judge or assume you've got it all figured out.

And with that, I fully expect to be blasted from here out, but hopefully for some, this post helps provide a bit more context. Have a great weekend everyone.