Halo Infinite passes Destiny 2 on Xbox's most played games list in the U.S.

Microsoft's live service shooter seems to finally be on the up and up.

[Vits]

I mean, the game is finally at a very good place gameplay-wise.
Shame they did not launch it in this state.

[Snookies12]

Yeah, I got into it again on PC just recently, and it's far better than it used to be. There is ONE thing that infuriates me though, and it's fully directed at Microsoft in particular. The fact that they can't accommodate split-screen on PC's simply because there is no way to sign into more than a single Microsoft account on Windows OS. Even though you can have multiple controllers connected at the same time. So, it's 100% an issue of Microsoft just not caring enough to do anything about it.

[sparky77]

Pretty much every GaaS launches like that though, what sets the best apart from the rest is the devs ability to listen and improve and 343 has done that in spades which is why it's having such a boom.

[Vits]

Nope, a solid GaaS kicks off strong and keeps improving through updates, all while the devs actually hear what the players are saying and 343 really dropped the ball on that launch.

[Obscure_Observer]

Indeed.

Thanks to 343i and XGS continued support, Halo Infinite has been definitely getting better and better over the past years.

343i is definitely the best Xbox studio to be ahead of Halo games and the actual results is nothing but proof that all you need is the right people in the right places. The last shake up definitely is doing wonders for that game.

Hopefully their upcoming Halo will be even better!

[sparky77]

@Vits

I would love to hear any examples of that because the most successful GaaS games follow this pattern like Fortnite, Apex, Halo, COD, No Mans Sky, FF14, Destiny, GTA:O, Fallout 76, Sea of Thieves etc.

[Vits]

Sure.

Genshin Impact, World of Warcraft, Dota 2, Crossfire, Path of Exile, Honor of Kings, Free Fire, League Of Legends, Honkai: Star Rail, Overwatch 1. You know, games that are actually monsters of revenue in their respective categories.

But I'm sure you find a reason for those not counting. And only the ones that fit your narrative to do.

[Crows90]

Yup...but still shitty

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@sparky77,

I don't think you should include Apex in your list, that game was good from the get go, unless you're counting Titanfall 1 & 2 for some weird reason.

[babadivad]

The new 343 listens to fans. The old 343 (before Microsoft cleaned house) laughed and dismissed fan complaints about bugs with their software.

Glad MS FINALLY gave this studio a kick in the ass.

[OMGitzThatGuy]

It was aways at a good experience gameplay wise, I never see anyone that played the game say it was bad, all criticism was based on the slow addition of content and no forge.

[Rude-ro]

It is dated and basic gameplay.
I get nostalgic, but something should improve over a decade.

[FGHFGHFGH]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Crows90]

Absolutely. It is a travesty. Shame the campaign is still mediocre.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Gameplay was already excellent. It needed more content at launch and now it has it.

[Einhander1972]

They briefly pass Density 2 after an update and this is a celebration for them? This has briefly happened in the past after updates as well.

Give it a few weeks for the update bump to wear off.

And of course Destiny 2 has a new update of it's own in the works.

You can really feel the desperation from Microsoft going into the holidays, all the usual sites are writing these types of articles over and over trying to see if they can get something to stick.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Halo is getting better PC wise imo

[purple101]

More players than a 6year old dead game..congratulations.

[Obscure_Observer]

"More players than a 6year old dead game..congratulations."

Well, Sony paid 3.7 Billion to acquire that "old dead game" and its studio.

So they definitely need all that investment to pay out, and Destiny is nothing but Bungie´s biggest (and only) successful IP.

[purple101]

Halo is bungies biggest and best game. The've done it before and theyl do it again, that must be what Sony saw. That must be why they invested. Not because of destiny 2 but because if potential. No one would spend 3.6bn to only get back a few hundred thousand a year on dlc for this dead horse.

Let's see what they have in store for the games in a year or two time.

[Rude-ro]

343 would beg to hit destiny’s lowest play count.
Cool.. funny that a Microsoft controlled data info is worth an article while destiny still absolutely destroys halos player retention numbers.

[Obscure_Observer]

@purple101

"Halo is bungies biggest and best game. The've done it before and theyl do it again, that must be what Sony saw. That must be why they invested. Not because of destiny 2 but because if potential."

Hardly. Destiny is a well established franchise and Bungie´s biggest money maker. Sony won´t invest in Bungie making anything remotely close to Halo (or Killzone for the matter) in the long term since Bungie already have two big games in development yet to be officially announced/revealed, Matter and Marathon.

If all of those games fail to achieve success, I think Sony will again turn its attention to a new Destiny game. Destiny 3 that is.

[Crows90]

Nope. Sony did not pay that to acquire the "dead" game. They paid for the studio because of their direction towards GaaS...a direction we've yet to actually see mind you.

[Obscure_Observer]

@Crows90

"Nope. Sony did not pay that to acquire the "dead" game. They paid for the studio because of their direction towards GaaS...a direction we've yet to actually see mind you."

Well, after one year as a Playstation first part studio, things aren´t going so well for Bungie or Playstation´s focus on GaaS as whole tbf.

Destiny 2´s latest expansion performed 45% below expectations which lead Bungie to layoff one hundred developers. About 8% of Bungie´s entire workforce despite the fact that Sony paid 1/3 out of 3.7 Billion dollars in advance for talent retention.

As consequence, both The Final Shape expansion and Marathon got pushed back and delayed.

Naughty Dog couldn´t deliver on their MP mode made standalone game either after all these years! They´ll shamelessly have a TLOU 2 remaster out before even reveal what was supposed to be a MP gaming mode for the original game.

Not to mention the whole situation and rumors surrounding studios that are not happy with this whole GaaS push with key people either leaving or getting fired.

I hope Sony finds a good replacement to Ryan quick, because things only got worse since that Totoki guy took over Ryan´s position.

[itsmebryan]

@purple
Remember said that Bungie will continue to be multiple platforms. They will need developers for that. Hopefully Sony won't continue to layout its devs.

[itsmebryan]

@purple101
It was alive enough for Sony to buy the whole company. Are you saying Sony made a bad business decision?

[purple101]

I personally don't play destiny.

I spent many hours on halo though.

The company made big selling brilliant games and I personally think they'll be able to do it again .

So although destiny2 isn't worth 3.6bn on its own, the potential of that company to make something else is high

I really don't know if it's a good investment or not though. I'm not that clever to worth it out.

[FGHFGHFGH]

It actually is ahead of HALO infinite in players now LOL

https://www.microsoft.com/e...

[DefenderOfDoom2]

The new DESTINY 2 season starts , I believe on November 28th .

[SimpleSlave]

HALO! The new Destiny Killer! 😂😂😂

How the mighty have fallen...

[jznrpg]

On Xbox with the smallest base of players.

[Armyofdarkness]

« Halo is now at #16, and Destiny is now #17»
Congrats!

[Hedstrom]

Feels more like its Destiny plummeting than Halo Rocketing!

[Exthun]

The thing is that Forza Horizon 5 has more players than Forza Motorsport released a month ago.

[Elda]

What about those worldwide numbers.

[Gamingsince1981]

It doesn't fit the narrative windows central wants to convey, so they won't mention that.

[CobraKai]

Wow. Halo is now #16 on the xbox most played list. Thats just amaze-balls:p. Im wondering what the other 15 games are. I can only imagine Forza, Starfield, COD, Roblox, and Minecraft. Sadly, Halo would normally be at the top.

[DarXyde]

It's a very compartmentalized win, it seems. Some strict qualifiers on this:

Specifically on Xbox in the US.

I mean a win is a win, but it's very reminiscent of the "stats play" Microsoft is famous for with users and number of zombies killed, laps made in Forza, etc.

[Kuma]

Destiny 2 being behind Halo in number of players says more than just numbers because D2 runs on multiple platforms and should be way ahead.

[anast]

Halo passes a game that has been declining for years. Xbox needs another trophy.

[DynDasE]

Nice comparison.
Halo Infinite VS An aging game nearly death game with their lowest population right before an arrival of a new (& last) season before the last DLC.

[rlow1]

Why do people on here have to be so negative about a game that has righted the ship and doing better? If anything you should be glad they are still improving the game and didn’t give up.

[Haki1112]

Because it's a Xbox game if it was any other company it would be praised here in N4SG.

[StoneTitan]

seems like this has nothing to do with Halo getting better but with DestinyPlayer waiting for something new

[Ra3030]

I wonder if these clowns will make another article saying that Halo Infinite has become less popular than Destiny 2 on Xbox most played list.

[repsahj]

And this small bump need a huge article and celebration? So sad.