Halo Infinite pros are reportedly being denied Visas due to declining game status
One Halo Infinite professional has claimed that he has been denied a Visa due to the status of the game having "diminishing popularity".
14th Nov 2023 17:00
343 Industries | HCS
Halo Infinite pros are reportedly being denied Visas due to declining game status
One Halo Infinite professional has claimed that he has been denied a Visa due to the status of the game having "diminishing popularity".
14th Nov 2023 17:00
343 Industries | HCS
Although Halo Infinite has had quite the drop-off from its pre-launch hype, the title recently had quite a resurgence and during the HCS finals, fans had finally gathered to celebrate what Infinite has become.
However, according to one professional player, the status of Halo Infinite has diminished so low that he cannot qualify for a Visa anymore based on his profession.
Canadian-born Halo pro Roman "Druk" Nasirudin has taken to social media to claim that his P-1 Visa, issued by USCIS, has been denied as Halo now has a "below par international recognition".
Halo Professional claims his Visa was denied due to the game's 'diminishing popularity'
Druk, a 25-year-old Halo professional who has played for organisations such as Kansas City Pioneers and Native Red (current), has taken to Twitter to claim that his Visa has been denied due to Halo's current status.
In a recent post, the 2022 World Champion Bronze medalist said, "My most recent Visa application has been denied by USCIS and it has been made apparent that it is unlikely to procure a P-1 Visa pertaining to anything Halo-related."
The reasoning for this is reportedly "due to diminishing popularity and below-par international recognition" for Halo.
Halo Esports' status could spark troubles for the HCS players
Although Druk's story has been somewhat argued against by Esports guru Adam Apicella (who claimed that he has helped pros meander through thousands of Visa applications as a tournament organiser), Druk continued to claim that the scale of prize pools and declining viewership are the main hindrances behind his denial.
"We’re using one of the best esports lawyers you can, and that viewership/prize pools pale in comparison to other games was basically the main reason for denial," Druk said in a separate post.
This could pose quite a problem for the HCS, as 33% of Halo Esports pros attending the last World Championships were from outside of the US, with 22 players likely having to go through the Visa process from countries such as Mexico, UK, France, Australia, and more.
Its yet to be seen if Druk has managed to find a fix for the issue, but given Halo will soon be looking to announce the 2024 season format and schedule, it draws a few question marks over its future.
About The Author
Jack Marsh
Jack is an Esports Journalist at GGRecon. Graduating from the University of Chester, with a BA Honours degree in Journalism, Jack is an avid esports enthusiast and specialises in Rocket League, Call of Duty, VALORANT, and trending gaming news.
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