Month: August 2020

Confirming rumors and in a big shakeup for the familiar formula, Microsoft recently announced that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will be entirely free. In a new video feature, GameSpot editor Eddie Makuch explains why that may be the smartest move Microsoft has made in years for Halo, and one that could pay dividends to help the franchise grow.

In the full video, Eddie goes into detail about how Halo Infinite’s multiplayer going free should help improve the online experience and keep the playerbase connected and engaged over the years. The video also touches on some of the potential issues that may crop up, like cheating.

Be sure to check out the full video above, and you can read an even more in-depth written editorial on the subject on GameSpot to find out more.

With the lackluster reveal for the campaign mode in July, fans are right to be skeptical and hesitant about Halo Infinite’s multiplayer going free, but I’m hoping these fears are unfounded. 343 has promised to show Halo Infinite’s multiplayer “soon” and talk about its many innovations, and I can’t wait to see it. It could be the beginning of a new era for Halo.

Confirming rumors and, in a big shakeup for the familiar formula, Microsoft recently announced that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will be entirely free. I think that’s the smartest move Microsoft has made in the last decade for Halo, and one that could pay dividends to help the franchise grow.

Halo Is For Everyone

The Halo franchise is one of Xbox’s most valuable assets. But, apart from the nostalgia-laden Halo: The Master Chief Collection–which itself is a fantastic entry in the series thanks to its ongoing updates–the core franchise has been away from the market for nearly five years, since Halo 5 in 2015. The Halo series has fallen out of the spotlight and is in dire need of a strong showing from Halo Infinite to put the franchise back on the right path.

With free-to-play games like Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, and Fortnite all dominating the FPS space currently, Halo Infinite multiplayer ran the risk of standing out like a sore thumb as a paid offering in 2020. Microsoft is already facing an uphill battle trying to make Halo relevant and interesting again with the mainstream–it didn’t need any more hurdles to overcome.

Those other games have set a precedent that large-scale, highly polished multiplayer games can be free, and Microsoft is smart to follow suit. Making Halo Infinite’s multiplayer free (there are rumors of the Xbox Live Gold requirement going away but nothing is confirmed yet) gives Microsoft the best chance to rekindle the flame and bring Halo back to its former glory. Making Halo Infinite multiplayer free allows the game to better appeal to lapsed fans, entirely new players, and players who were curious but never bought in before. I did not foresee Call of Duty and Halo–two of gaming’s most lucrative properties–having free multiplayer offerings in 2020, but here we are, and it’s an exciting proposition for a number of reasons.

A Bigger Pool

One of the many issues with Halo: MCC at launch was that it simply did not have enough players to accommodate the game’s numerous playlists, in addition to the severe network issues that in some cases prevented people from connecting to the game at all. Things got better over time, but with Halo Infinite’s multiplayer being free out of the gate, the game should have a giant player pool on launch day that only grows bigger over time. In theory, this will in turn help you find matches faster and have a better time in the game if the matchmaking algorithms work. The more people playing, the better the experience stands to be. Microsoft has shifted its focus in recent years toward creating ecosystems of players that can play together with minimal barriers, and making Halo Infinite’s multiplayer free is a further step in that player-first direction. Not only that, but with Halo Infinite multiplayer going free, it stands to reason that gameplay videos will be plastered all over the place, and this could in turn drive a new level of excitement and engagement with the series.

If You Only Want Multiplayer

Microsoft’s latest messaging has been all about giving people the choice to play their games however they want, wherever they want, and whenever they want. Splitting up campaign (paid) and multiplayer (free) is a reflection of this strategy of freedom of choice.

At long last, if you’re only interested in Halo multiplayer, you can have it. The next time you log in to MCC, check the player pages for people you play against–I did this recently and noticed that a very good portion of players had either never touched any campaign or only played them minimally. This is anecdotal data, to be sure, and it could also be explained by how people already played the campaigns on their original platforms, but by making Halo Infinite multiplayer free, Microsoft is responding to the idea that campaign and multiplayer can have different audiences with varying interests. I recently checked my own stats, and I have more than 1,000 hours in MCC–I’ve barely touched the campaigns. I like that I have the option to play Halo’s campaigns if I want to, but that option came at a cost. Soon, we’ll all have a greater freedom to choose and the barrier to entry is much lower for those who want to experiment.

Offering multiplayer for free eases some of the friction that people might have had about the series if they were only interested in multiplayer, or at least those whose playtimes skewed heavily towards that. Halo Infinite’s free multiplayer seemingly hasn’t come at the cost of single-player, either, as Microsoft is cooking up a new, classic Halo-styled campaign mode that–assuming the graphical shortcomings can be overcome–looks to be on an encouraging path.

All About Engagement

These days, Microsoft seems to care less and less about unit sales of its consoles and games in favor of “engagement,” and this has been driven in part by Xbox Game Pass. With every first-party Xbox game launching into Xbox Game Pass for no extra cost, unit sales of key titles are surely softened. I would expect this to continue for Halo Infinite. But engagement numbers may be reaching higher levels than ever before–and this is Microsoft’s new bread and butter.

The Game Pass model is already working. Obsidian’s new game, Grounded, is a relatively niche title on paper–the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids-meets-Rust setup is not exactly a mass-market idea–but the game tallied an astonishing 1 million players in just 48 hours thanks in part to Game Pass. No Man’s Sky, meanwhile, added 1 million new players after launching on Xbox Game Pass. With Halo Infinite’s multiplayer releasing for free and on Xbox Game Pass, the franchise has the potential to reach a wider audience than ever before, and this is good as a means to elevate the Halo series to new heights and bring it back to prominence.

No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

Nothing is ever really free. With Halo Infinite’s multiplayer adopting a free-to-play model, you can expect monetization to come in the form of things like cosmetics and a battle pass system, and who knows what else (but not paid loot boxes!). Halo Infinite’s free multiplayer is great messaging for Microsoft–free Halo!–but Microsoft wins here, too. With every Xbox and PC user now a potential Halo player, the reach of the game could potentially grow to an unprecedented level of scale, making it a serious money-maker.

Microtransactions from the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone are estimated to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars every quarter. Even if Infinite makes only a portion of that–and it would likely be smaller, considering it’s a platform exclusive–that would still be a very large chunk of change.

Whatever misgivings some portion of the audience may have about microtransactions, the Halo community has already proven to accept–or at least tolerate–microtransactions as a business model. Halo 5’s microtransactions–Req Packs–brought in many millions of dollars over the years. And this was people spending extra money on a game they already paid for. With a free-to-play offering that relies on microtransactions, the ceiling is much higher–in essence, unending–for microtransaction spending in Halo Infinite. You and I don’t need to care about the profitability of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer–that’s for the bean counters at Microsoft to be concerned about–but looking into the business model can be a constructive way of examining wider trends and strategies that Microsoft may employ for the game.

A job ad at 343 Industries mentioned a “AAA player investment” experience for Halo Infinite’s microtransactions and that the team would use psychological tactics to drive microtransaction sales. The wording here does come across as nefarious-sounding, but we can’t know for sure how it will all shake out until Microsoft clarifies and defines how microtransactions will actually work in Halo Infinite. It’s fair to be skeptical and worrisome about how Halo Infinite will implement microtransactions–after all, there are many egregious examples of microtransactions in this industry. When they do finally reveal Halo Infinite’s multiplayer, 343 ought to lay its cards on the table and clear things up or they run the risk of people assuming the worst.

A Platform For The Future

From the sound of the initial reports, 343 plans to treat Halo Infinite as a platform that grows and evolves over the next decade. Instead of Halo Infinite 2, it seems like 343 will treat Halo Infinite like a games-as-a-service title that is supported for the long term. Making multiplayer free helps ensure that the playerbase stays connected over the years, and it’s exciting as a Halo fan to think about where the game could go over time without having to worry about buying a sequel every few years. I can envision a future where Halo Infinite adds new map packs, cosmetics, and lots more over time, and players can invest in whatever they like. It could also be possible that 343 adopts the Destiny model and brings in new content for Halo Infinite’s campaign that also has an effect on multiplayer, thus creating a back-and-forth funnel that drives more of the elusive engagement.

A Democratic Model

Free-to-play is a powerful form of democracy in gaming. Anyone who tries Halo Infinite’s multiplayer and doesn’t like it has only lost time–not money. As former SOE boss John Smedley explained to GameSpot, free-to-play can keep developers on their toes because if they don’t create a compelling experience, people will move on to something else. Moving Halo Infinite to a free-to-play model for multiplayer is a huge change for the series, and the players will ultimately decide if it works or if it doesn’t. Microsoft can afford to take a monetary hit in the short-term–Xbox Game Pass doesn’t make any money right now–but this won’t last forever. 343 needs to deliver in the multiplayer department and make Halo Infinite something that fans are excited about returning to–and spending money on–on a regular basis.

Some Issues

Like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Warzone before it, Halo Infinite’s multiplayer going free could spell trouble, especially in the area of cheating. By casting such a wide net and dropping the entry free, cheaters may flock to Infinite. This is a reality for free-to-play online games, and 343 will need to make assurances to the playerbase that it is taking cheating seriously. I would hope to see things like player-reporting tools and transparency from 343 about its plans to weed out the bad actors and toxic players from Halo Infinite multiplayer. 343 has done a solid job of policing Halo: MCC’s cheaters, and we can hope those learnings will apply to Infinite.

Early Days

Microsoft has shown precisely zero multiplayer footage for Halo Infinite, and similarly, there is no word on how the business model will shake out for microtransactions. Free Halo! sounds really good on paper, but it’s too soon to say if the multiplayer will shake things up in the way many are hoping to make it interesting and worthwhile in the first place. With the lacklustre reveal for the campaign mode in July, fans are right to be skeptical and hesitant, but I’m hoping these fears are unfounded. 343 has promised to show Halo Infinite’s multiplayer “soon” and talk about its many innovations, and I can’t wait to see it. It could be the beginning of a new era for Halo.

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Earlier this week Microsoft confirmed that xCloud, its games streaming service that will be bundled with Xbox Games Pass Ultimate, will be launching in September on Android. Apple devices were completely omitted from the announcement, with their testing apps pulled from devices shortly afterwards.

Microsoft has chosen to prematurely end its iOS testing for xCloud ahead of the previously communicated September 11 date, when Android test users will migrate over to the officially launched product. In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft say its attention now is focused on a smooth launch across Android.

“Our Project xCloud preview TestFlight period has ended on iOS and we are focused on delivering cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to Android customers beginning September 15,” said a Microsoft spokesperson. “It’s our ambition to scale cloud gaming through Xbox Game Pass available on all devices.”

The xCloud test on iOS was already much more limited than the one on Android. It was limited to 10 000 users and only featured Halo: The Master Chief Collection to play. TestFlight builds need to be periodically renewed and updated to stay live, which Microsoft seem to have put on pause for the meantime.

The issue isn’t necessarily with Microsoft, but may be with Apple instead. Apple has strict policies around remote network connections, with its rules stipulating that apps can only make such a connection to another local device on the same network. Therefore, Google Stadia still hasn’t launched a client on any Apple devices and could be the main hurdle Microsoft faces too.

Apple additionally restricts apps that connect to external storefronts, since it cannot control content and royalties on these transactions. This was the main issue Valve had when attempting to launch their Steam Link app on iOS, which eventually took a year to resolve. Considering Steam Link only connects to a computer you own, it circumvents the previous rules holding back Google and Microsoft.

Microsoft hasn’t directly stated which rules are preventing it to push forward with xCloud plans on Apple devices, but if Stadia is any indication it might not be an easy problem to resolve. Games Pass Ultimate subscribers will get xCloud support for free starting next month, with Microsoft announcing a portion of the 100 games you can expect on launch day. A variety of accessories from Razer, PowerA, and more have also been revealed.

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Epic Games is taking another big step forward with its online marketplace with the release of an exclusive new free-to-play “interactive-sitcom” called 3 out of 10. Blending the gameplay of a classic 2D adventure game with the style and presentation of a late-night animated series, 3 out of 10 is the next unusual experiment coming to Epic Game Store on PC. With the first episode of 3 out of 10 out now, and new entries for the five-episode first season releasing weekly till September 3, the game focuses on one of the industry’s worst game developers seeking to make it big with their next game.

Just before the reveal, GameSpot got to play 3 out of 10 and had a chat with members from developer and publisher Terrible Posture Games about the making of this “experimental” game for the Epic Games Store. The first episode focuses on the fictional Shovelworks Studios’ new hire, Midge Potter, a replacement for an animator who unexpectedly combusted at his desk. Within minutes of joining the team, she’s thrust into the bizarre world of game development at a C-level studio that’s struggling to make a hit and avoid the ire of angry fans picketing their building.

Game director Joe Mirabello told GameSpot the developer is trying something different with the adventure series. Its previous credits include titles like Tower of Guns and Mothergunship, two FPS games that parodied the genre, and 3 out of 10 carries a similar awareness of the genre and the setting it inhabits. Mirabello stated during our interview that he has had his share of odd experiences working at game studios like Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios, the ill-fated developer that released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Yet, Mirabello stressed that 3 out of 10 isn’t “punching down” on the industry, but rather highlighting the absurdity within it.

“A lot of people grow up wanting to be a game developer, and the media that’s out there presents it like things shown in movies like Grandma’s Boy, which is not very accurate. It very much tried to take the medium and shove it into another container,” said Mirabello. “That said, there are movies out there that very accurately portray what, for instance, being a journalist is like, and it’s not all roses, even showing a comedic side to it. You feel like you’ve learned a little bit about what the day-to-day life would be, even if it is abstracted, silly, or even just a bit different. To me, I felt you could have something that pokes fun at the gaming industry in an absurdist way, yet at the same time, not be inaccurate. It also felt that something like was a good fit for being an actual game too.”

3 out of 10 presents itself as an animated sitcom, with many gags and non-sequitur humor that would feel right at home in a show from Adult Swim or a Comedy Central cartoon circa the 2000s. Yet, it takes many of its gameplay cues from classic 2D adventure games such as Grim Fandango and The Secret of Monkey Island, with the various hijinks that the Shovelworks devs find themselves in culminating in set-piece encounters. When you’re not exploring the office and talking with the team, you’ll engage in different mini-games and optional activities that jump into different genres, which was cool to see play out. Completing tasks efficiently and with accuracy will earn you collectable stars, which will be tallied up and placed on a leaderboard by the episode’s end.

In our playthrough of Episode 1, Welcome To Shovelworks, Midge tries to fit into her new job. After meeting her new co-workers, she’s tasked with helping the floundering, yet stable developer overcome the latest controversy following the reveal of their next game, Surfing with Sharks–an endless runner that unexpectedly has an end. The first episode does a pretty solid job of offering an accessible and comedic look at the internal conflict of game development, and how minor issues lead to big problems. It dabbles in the familiar tropes of office sitcoms, which at some points can feel a bit crass with jokes poking fun at underpaid interns, but the absurdist approach still makes it enjoyable and it is largely in good-taste.

What sets 3 out of 10 apart from other adventure games is that it embraces the Netflix-style approach of having control of your content. As an interactive animated show, you’re free to follow the flow of the episode. However, you can also skip scenes and rewind to previous moments. This accessible approach can be handy when trying to score enough stars during each episode’s key scenes or if you get stuck during a particular mini-game and want to proceed with the plot. Each episode is also around 30 minutes, to ensure that they maintain a decent pace and are easily digestible.

According to Mirabello, Terrible Posture’s pitch for a new adventure game series was enough for Epic Games to get interested–So much so that work has already begun on the second season, which might address the absurdity of the current climate with COVID-19 and the push for a work-from-home lifestyle.

“This game is kind of an experiment in how you can tell a story in a game,” Mirabello said. “But when it comes to the current pandemic, I won’t say there hasn’t been an impact on us [despite us already working remotely]. Compared to some other studios where they changed their entire way they do things, that has not been the case with us. It’s mostly just been managing our own personal health. I almost felt like it’s been a blessing for us that we’ve been able to continue on with this game. There’s a lot of things in society that have completely changed overnight. We don’t know how the game industry is going to look on the other side of this. So in the future, that might be something that we have to make a comment on, but if we do so, I want to make sure that it’s something that we can address in a lighthearted way so that we’re not punching down on anybody, but still in a way that’s in jest. We want to make sure that we have the authority to speak in that kind of tone on whatever we are commenting on.”

The Epic Games Store has employed a somewhat unorthodox approach to building its market, leveraging heavy hitters like Fortnite while also expanding a suite of exclusives. 3 out of 10 looks to be one of those games that does things differently with its approach to the adventure genre, but also in how players can experience the entire story throughout its season. The entire five-episode first season will be free-to-play on the Epic Games Store, and aside from the option to purchase the game’s soundtrack, there will be no microtransactions or other paid content with the game. It’ll be interesting to see how 3 out of 10 grows following its first season, and what new experiments it could yield for the Epic Games Store in the future.

While the movie High Fidelity may have become a cult classic, the TV show of the same name sadly got the ax this week. Deadline is reporting that Hulu has chosen not to renew its High Fidelity original series for a second season.

The Hulu series was based on a novel by British author Nick Hornsby (who also gave us About A Boy) and later adapted for American audiences with the 2000 film starring John Cusack and, coincidentally, Lisa Bonet. Zoë Kravitz starred as Rob, the record store owner who has struggled a lifetime of failed relationships and trysts and reminiscences on what went wrong with each one. If you’ve seen the movie, the first season follows that overarching plot very closely, but still had very much a life of its own.

The report also stated that the final decision was not easy and came after “lengthy deliberations.” The show, which has been well received by critics and currently has an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Kravitz took to Instragram Thursday morning following the announcement to thank the cast and crew for their time and support for the show.

View this post on Instagram

i wanna give a shout out to my #highfidelity family. thank you for all the love and heart you put into this show. i’m in awe of all of you. and thank you to everyone who watched, loved and supported us. ✌🏽 #breakupssuck

A post shared by Zoë Kravitz (@zoeisabellakravitz) on Aug 5, 2020 at 7:25pm PDT

High Fidelity is the latest casualty for the 2020 television year. Fan favorites like Syfy’s The Magicians, Ray Donovan, and even freshmen series Friended By God all saw the end of their run earlier this year. Fox’s Cops finally saw the end of its 32 year run after getting political heat from activists.

Developed for TV by Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka, the series co-starred Jake Lacy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David H. Holmes, and had fun guest stars like Parker Posey and Debby Harry.

The first trailer for Netflix‘s upcoming surreal in a good way but still very much foaming-at-the-mouth weird while also funny horror-drama I’m Thinking of Ending Things has arrived.

Adapted from the 2016 debut novel from Canadian writer Iain Reid with the same name, the film version has been written and directed by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). This is Kaufman’s third time in the director’s chair for a movie he’s also written. It’s also the first time he’s adapted another writer’s material since 2002’s Adaptation, starring Nicolas Cage in multiple roles.

The official synopsis for I’m Thinking of Ending Things reads, “Despite second thoughts about their relationship, a young woman (Jessie Buckley) takes a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. Trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), the young woman begins to question the nature of everything she knew or understood about her boyfriend, herself, and the world.” (edited) But as the trailer suggests, the movie seems to be much more about the tone and world than the plot itself, per se.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things is due to premiere on Netflix September 4, although reportedly would have played the festival circuit had COVID not shut events and venues down. In advance of the movie’s upcoming release, Kaufman recently told Entertainment Weekly: “I don’t set out to do a mindf*** [in my movies]… I’m not setting out to do something that ‘tops’ some sort of brainteaser I might have done before. But there’s no question that I’m trying to build on the stuff that I’ve already done.”

I’m Thinking About Ending Things lands on Netflix on September 4.