Microsoft is to blame for Halo. - Infinite had over 20 million players at launch - Steam’s all time peak was 272,586 - Infinite’s Metacritic was 87 - Microsoft was publisher of the year 2021 - Well received campaign - Well received multiplayer It became apparent within weeks that the game was not content ready and that important features like forge and co-op would be delayed which greatly harmed Infinite’s success. Microsoft mandated contract work that led to employees leaving after 18 months and new hires having to learn the engine from scratch before they also had to leave in the same time frame. In 2022 the studio was gutted with numerous layoffs and the exit of Bonnie Ross. What was left was a shell that then rebranded and switched to Unreal. This is how we got 2026’s campaign-only Campaign Evolved. Had Microsoft allowed full time employees to be hired, kept 343 properly staffed, stayed on the Slipspace engine and allowed them to make a sequel to Halo Infinite that was feature complete at launch we’d have been playing it already. The franchise would be healthy and successful.