343 Industries has just announced a Halo-themed cookbook of all things, much to the disappointment of professional players who would have preferred to hear about any new gameplay updates for Halo Infinite instead. The latest installment of Microsoft’s massively influential sci-fi FPS franchise had a strong start when it finally launched on the Xbox Series X last winter, with critics praising Halo Infinite’s single-player campaign for taking Halo’s gameplay and story in bold new directions. Since then, 343 has added to Halo Infinite’s multiplayer with new cosmetic items and game modes, such as the recently added Tactical Slayer playlist.
However, many of these new additions to Halo Infinite have been superficial at best, with many fans left yearning for some major updates and features that were promised during the two-year-long wait for Halo Infinite to arrive. Two major examples of this include the fan-favorite Forge Mode and Campaign Co-op, which were infamously pulled from Halo Infinite to prevent any further delays to the base game. Several months later, neither one of these modes has been added to Halo Infinite despite many rumors and leaks surrounding them, with Forge Mode being pushed back once more from its planned launch as part of Halo Infinite’s Season 2 DLC in May. Another gameplay mode that Halo Infinite fans have been waiting with bated breath for is a multiplayer Battle Royale mode, but it seems that they will have to wait a while longer for such a reveal.
While 343 Industries did have a major Halo announcement earlier today, it wasn’t for any new kind of gameplay mode or even a DLC cosmetic pack. Instead, the official Halo Twitter account revealed that publishing house Insight Editions will be releasing The Official Halo Cookbook, a collection of space-themed recipes “from across the galaxy,” at some point in August. While some fans have been amused at the idea of finding out what exactly the Master Chief has for lunch between universe-saving missions, many players on the Halo pro-gaming circuit are less than thrilled at this revelation - and took to Twitter to voice their displeasure. FaZe Nickmercs and OpTic Hitch expressed disbelief that 343 Industries would bother with a Halo-themed cookbook instead of actual in-game content, OpTic Lucid joked about how 343 wasn’t kidding about trying to reach a broader audience, Marz was disappointed that the cookbook was announced instead of a Battle Royale mode, and SEN SnakeBite simply posted a Confused John C. Riley meme to illustrate their bewilderment at this news.
Pro Halo players have voiced their displeasure at Halo Infinite’s lackluster state before, expressing how disappointed they are that the game has apparently stagnated less than a year after its promising initial launch under a live service model. Extra disappointment has come in the wake of Paramount +'s live-action Halo TV series, which many fans feel could have led to some interesting cross-promotional content for Halo Infinite.
That isn’t to say that Halo Infinite has been completely void of exciting new developments, as longtime Halo multiplayer announcer Jeff Steitzer was recently added to Halo Infinite’s Big Battle Mode to the fanbase’s delight. Still, there is much more room for improvement in Halo Infinite, leaving fans of all stripes disappointed when something as random as a Halo-themed cookbook instead of the long-awaited return of Forge Mode.
Source: Halo/Twitter, FaZe Nickmercs/Twitter, OpTic Hitch/Twitter, OpTic Lucid/Twitter, Marz/Twitter, SEN SnakeBite/Twitter