343 Industries has apologized for Halo Infinite’s widely-criticized Fracture Tenrai event and detailed a number of structural changes on the way ahead of its January return.
Just days after Halo Infinite’s multiplayer servers came online, the first seasonal event was already underway. Fracture Tenrai was accessible for just one week, offering players a Fiesta Limited Time Mode, various cosmetics in a unique Event Pass, and plenty of new items in the store.
This first-of-its-kind event in 343’s new release quickly came under fire. Players boycotted the experience as advertised gear was locked behind a paywall and the Event Pass was overflowing with useless Challenge Swaps and XP Boosts.
With five weeks still left to go in the event — spanning between January 4 and April 26 — devs have since apologized for this first outing and addressed a number of major changes in the works.
Throughout the final Halo community stream of the year, Head of Design Jerry Hook personally apologized for Infinite’s event.
“We want the events to be a place where you can earn new content and not care about whether you’re going to pay or not,” he said.
Regarding much of Tenrai’s promoted content being purchasable, the lead dev called it a “mistake.”
“None of that should be available in the store,” he stressed. “I’m sorry about that.”
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Looking ahead, the Fracture Tenrai event is in store for some “structural changes,” he added.
Firstly, we can expect “less [Challenge Swaps] and [XP Boosts]” in the Event Pass. Replacing it will be “more actual content” ranging from “shoulders, coatings,” and more, Hook promised.
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Next, all event-specific gear that was “mistakenly put in the store” will “only be earnable in the Tenrai event itself,” he explained. Meaning players will soon be able to earn every unique armor piece without paying.
Furthermore, 343 teased upcoming changes to Infinite’s permanent store. “We think we can do some things better for our players and better for the game experience,” Hook said later in the broadcast.
“We’re taking a look at that across the board. We have to make sure that customization is actually doing what we expect it to do. We just have to take a look at all of that. We have conversations going on right now, it’s something that is for sure top of mind.”
There’s no telling when the current microtransaction model may be tweaked. But rest assured limited-time events are already locked in for the aforementioned improvements.
