343 Industries – Gloomberg News

29Jan

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Gaming

Phil Spencer Defends Future Of Halo Amid Cuts And Criticism

Image: 343 Industries / MicrosoftThings haven’t been going great for Xbox recently. Microsoft is facing stiff resistance in its attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. It released hardly any big exclusive blockbusters last year. And it just cut over 10,000 jobs last week, including many senior developers at Halo Infinite studio 343 Industries. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer tried to remain upbeat and do damage control on each of these points and more in a new interview with IGN.“Every year is critical,” he said. “I don’t find this year to be more or less critical. I feel good about our momentum. Obviously, we’re going through some adjustments right now that are painful, but I think necessary, but it’s really to set us up and the teams for long-term success.”This week captured both the p...

12Aug

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Gaming

The Best And Worst Parts Of Every Halo Game

Screenshot: MicrosoftBest: They did it, they actually stuck the landing. It seems quaint, in this era of sprawling canon and cinematic universes, that a trilogy could actually…end. But Halo 3 actually pulled it off, marrying a satisfying resolution with just enough tragedy to give it impact. Then, of course, there’s the suitable send-off for Master Chief, left floating in space on a riven interstellar cruiser with no one but Cortana, his longtime AI companion, for company. Who can forget her timeless coda: “Wake me, when you need me.”Worst: Nothing. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I have anything here—or, at the very least, anything I’d cite as the “worst” part of Halo 3 would be disingenuous, at best. Though it’s no doubt aged, some of its design choices feeling ancient when weighed up ag...

6Jul

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Gaming

Halo 2’s Iconic E3 Trailer Will Be A Playable Level, Someday

Screenshot: Bungie / KotakuThe coolest part of Halo 2 never made it into Halo 2. If you’re at all a fan of the series, you know exactly what I’m talking about: the “Earthcity” demo, shown off during Microsoft’s E3 presentation in 2003. That level never made it into the full release of Halo 2, but nearly two decades later, a playable build is in the works, 343 Industries announced today in a blog post.Just to give you a sense of how earth-shatteringly cool this is, here’s my real-time reaction upon learning the news, copied directly from Kotaku’s Slack channel:waitno fucking waynofuckingwaygemr2cmt4p4t3p2m8mp2340u9[m[0m19tsry srymy face fell onto my keyboardIn the cold light of today’s fidelity arms race, you might not get this impression looking at the clip’s lo-fi visuals, but it’s hard t...

7Jun

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Gaming

How To Get Into Halo Infinite’s Campaign Co-Op Beta Test

“I need a weapon...to sign me up for this technical flight.” — Master Chief, Halo Infinite (2021)Screenshot: 343 IndustriesHalo Infinite will finally get some form of co-op for its campaign, 343 Industries announced today. It’ll be playable as one of those basically-just-a-beta “technical flights,” the same method the studio used last summer to get players into the first-person shooter’s initial multiplayer testing.Getting into one of Halo Infinite’s technical flights is pretty simple. First, head over to the Halo Insider site. Punch in your email and some details about what devices you play games on (including the resolution you play at if you’re on Xbox). Then fill out the days of the week you’re available to play. Last summer’s multiplayer technical flights ran on three separate weekend...