Halo Infinite Multiplayer Was Supposed To Be An Overwatch Clone
Halo Infinite's multiplayer almost looked completely different, taking the hero shooter angle and supposedly starting as an Overwatch clone.
26th Apr 2022 09:06
343 Industries | Blizzard
Halo Infinite Multiplayer Was Supposed To Be An Overwatch Clone
Halo Infinite's multiplayer almost looked completely different, taking the hero shooter angle and supposedly starting as an Overwatch clone.
26th Apr 2022 09:06
343 Industries | Blizzard
Halo Infinite's multiplayer was a huge deal upon launch. The first-person shooter's multiplayer component was probably going to be a treat anyway, but the reveal that it'd be free-to-play stunned a lot of long-term fans of the franchise.
When the Halo beta surprise launched out of the blue, it was yet another injection of excitement for Spartans everywhere. But, it could have been completely different, and rather than looking backwards in its own franchise for inspiration, it almost looked further afield to other games in the industry.
Was Halo Infinite's Multiplayer Almost A Hero Shooter?
As it turns out, Halo Infinite almost used the genre that was popularised by Overwatch to influence its free-to-play multiplayer.
A post on Reddit claims that the multiplayer mode was supposed to be "an Overwatch clone" that was "forced to switch to current MP style in last two years of dev". It has then been validated by a reply from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier.
"This was actually cut from my article late last year - yes, 343 spent a while prototyping a hero-based system," he said in his reply. "I don't remember exactly when they switched to the current version [...] but I can confirm that they were working on various hero-based prototypes. In fact, I think there were both PVP and PVE prototypes built."
We Could Have Had Halo Battlefront
The one thing that leaps to mind when considering a hero system alongside the Halo framework that we know and love, is that the Halo Infinite multiplayer could have looked an awful lot like the classic Star Wars: Battlefront games.
It may have been a huge risk, though, as Halo's multiplayer is universally beloved for a reason, and to divert from it would likely be met with some big backlash - but it's hard not to be wistful over what could have been. A Halo clone of Overwatch sounds like a lot of fun, but perhaps it's best that Halo stuck to its guns. Otherwise, Twitter would be a nightmare.
About The Author
Joseph Kime
Joseph Kime is the Senior Trending News Journalist for GGRecon from Devon, UK. Before graduating from MarJon University with a degree in Journalism, he started writing music reviews for his own website before writing for the likes of FANDOM, Zavvi and The Digital Fix. He is host of the Big Screen Book Club podcast, and author of Building A Universe, a book that chronicles the history of superhero movies. His favourite games include DOOM (2016), Celeste and Pokemon Emerald.
Related
More Like This
Playing Halo 2 in third-person makes it better than ever
When you think of Halo you most likely categorise it as a first-person shooter, which makes sense since that is exactly what it is. At least, it was until modders shone a whole new light on Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, allowing players to experience Halo in the third person.
56 weeks ago
