Halo Infinite's user base is vast and diverse, but has the game been doing well since it launched in late 2021?
The thing about Halo Infinite is that it'll never make everyone happy. Of those die-hard fans who have been around since Combat Evolved (of which I am one of them), many will be unhappy with the changes, especially with that free-to-play shift we were all dreading. Seeing as the game is missing Co-op and Forge, it's not surprising that people are getting concerned about whether the game is performing.
We have to keep the context of Halo Infinite in mind. This is a game that dropped in a year that also saw the release of a new Call of Duty and a new Battlefield game. Now, despite the fact that Halo Infinite was far superior to those titles (for obvious reasons), that's a pretty big split in the game's user base. To counteract this, Halo Infinite needed to bring in the big-guns. Did it succeed? Well, that's what we're here to determine.
Before we start, we also want to draw your attention to the fact that Electronic Arts actually blames Halo Infinite for Battlefield 2042's poor reception and engagement. It's bollocks, of course, but draws attention to something very important, the main point of this article: even if the numbers are declining right now, there's a lot to know and a lot to consider before drawing some kind of judgement.
Halo Infinite Is Losing Players & It Doesn't Matter
Halo Infinite is, indeed, losing players at a rather dramatic rate. This, however, is not the dramatic statement it might seem to be. You see, when Halo Infinite dropped back in December 2021 it saw the biggest launch in Halo's history, with a whopping 20 million players reported by the end of January.
It doesn't matter so much, though, as despite Halo Infinite's current daily peak sitting at around 30,000 concurrent players on Steam (according to Business Insider), its drop is only to be expected. After all, with such a strong opening launch, you can only expect an initial drop-off followed by a bit of stagnation part-way through a game's first season.
When you look at similar games like Call of Duty and Fortnite, you often see dips around the centre-point of a competitive season. In addition, given the fact that two major features are missing from Halo Infinite it is only to be expected that things might not look too crash hot right now. More players will also jump back in, considering that Halo Infinite is a free-to-play game.
With over 20 million Spartans joining us so far, we're thrilled to announce that #HaloInfinite is the biggest launch in Halo franchise history! Thank you, everyone, for joining us on the next step in this great journey. pic.twitter.com/d4EIsvWYVr
— Halo (@Halo) January 25, 2022
The reality is that Halo Infinite is still up against tough competition, especially seeing as it lacks a Battle Royale mode. I don't think that the game needs one, but even others here at EarlyGame disagree with me on that. We also need to remember that the number given by Business Insider was purely for Steam, not even Game Pass on PC.
Falling out of Xbox's top-five most-played games is also not that big of a deal. Yet again, look at the competition: Call of Duty: Warzone, GTA 5, Apex Legends, Fortnite and Roblox are the top five, with Halo Infinite taking the sixth position.
In the end, we need to remember that Halo Infinite is now a live-service game, and live-service games go through dips. We were even making the claim last year that Rocket League was dying, and that seems to be a load of rubbish now. Halo Infinite is, and will likely continue to be, the most successful Halo game in history, and when new seasons and content comes around it will be picked up in droves. After all, it's a flippin' fantastic experience. Who wouldn't want to pick this bad-boy up?