Halo Infinite’s competitive season set records at HCS Raleigh and the frustrated Call of Duty community is now hoping the competitor’s success will help CoD in the long run.
When Halo Infinite debuted its competitive plans, Call of Duty pros were knee-deep in Vanguard and already jealous of the rival title. At the time, Halo was only in online play, but the quality of its competition and emphasis on ranked play had CDL pros demanding change.
Now, following Halo’s first LAN event, those sentiments are resurfacing. The Halo Competitive Series (HCS) kicked off with open-bracket play on LAN in Raleigh, North Carolina. The prize pool was a whopping $350,000, viewership hit an all-time high 260,000-plus, and CoD fans took note.
There were a number of reactions – some angry, some hopeful – from fans and members of the scene alike, including streamers, pro players, and OpTic Gaming’s founder, Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez.
CoD community looking on bright side of Halo success
Halo might help COD get our shit together.
This is just such a well executed launch by Halo that it isn’t even surprising that we are seeing this sort of success.
have a lot to say re: this. Gimme a camera & a mic so I can continue to say what I said years ago on the matter.
— OpTic HecZ (@H3CZ) December 19, 2021
The H3CZ reaction to HCS Raleigh is pretty emblematic of an optimistic camp in the CoD community. The hope is that Halo’s success can “help CoD get our s**t together.”
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As far as what “s**t” he’s referring to, there’s a number of qualities pointed to. The CDL’s 2021 MVP, Chris ‘Semp’ Lehr emphasized Halo’s crowdfunded prize pool while his peer Dillon ‘Attach’ Price noted the hype of open play.
Former CoD caster and current 100 Thieves co-owner and streamer, Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop, got involved from a fan’s standpoint too. He listed seven ways Halo esports excelled, from ranked play to viewership rewards, seemingly focusing on the features CoD doesn’t have.
But H3CZ isn’t the only one who’s trying to look on the bright side. While everyone is impressed by Halo’s success and seemingly rooting for the game, some are hoping the competition is a good thing.
The frustrated competitive CoD community reacted by saying “you hate to see it, but you also love to see it.” And, with comments noting that competition could be a good thing, it appears that CoD players are watching Halo intently – and hoping Activision are, too.
