The iconic Xbox franchise that once defined the landscape of first-person multiplayer shooters has faced setbacks in recent releases. Despite the critical acclaim Halo Infinite received upon its 2021 launch, the game’s appeal diminished as 343 Industries rushed to deliver timely seasonal multiplayer updates, attempting to sustain player engagement. While Halo Infinite experienced a player count resurgence with the introduction of Season 5 content late last year, news has emerged that the game’s unannounced battle royale mode, codenamed Tatanka, has reportedly been scrapped.
XboxEra co-founder Shpeshal_Nick, as reported by Eurogamer, shared the information on the XboxEra podcast, revealing that the long-awaited Halo battle royale project, Tatanka, is rumored to be no longer in development. “I got a DM about it last week, that Tatanka has been cancelled,” Nick stated on the podcast.
The battle royale mode for Halo Infinite was a collaborative effort with Certain Affinity. In April 2022, Certain Affinity deepened its ties with 343 Industries, expressing excitement about evolving Halo Infinite in new ways. While 343 remained tight-lipped about the battle royale mode, Certain Affinity hinted at its existence in late 2022, confirming their development lead on the unannounced Halo project with nearly 100 developers working on it.
Reacting to this development, video game historian and leaker Liam Robertson confirmed the cancellation of the Halo battle royale project in a post on X Tuesday, mentioning, “I talked about this last year and I can back this up. I researched it a bit. However, I think it was cancelled even earlier than this claims but yes, it was 2022.”
The cancellation adds to the challenges faced by 343 Industries, which underwent restructuring and leadership changes, including the departure of founder and lead Bernie Ross in September 2022. Despite these obstacles, Halo Infinite received its Season 5: Reckoning update in October last year, introducing new maps, a reimagined Halo 4 Extraction mode, a 50-tier Premium Battle Pass, and additional content for players.
As the saga of Halo Infinite unfolds, the cancellation of the battle royale mode raises questions about the stability of the franchise and the ongoing efforts to address concerns within the gaming community.
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