‘Halo’ on the original Xbox initially built without a campaign

Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox didn’t have a single-player campaign at first.

This comes from programmer on the title Stefan Sinclair, who told Retro Gamer magazine (thanks, Gamesradar) that at first Halo was going to be multiplayer-only, and that a server connection was required for the development team to play.

“Halo had been developed for internet multiplayer even in its most primordial forms,” explained Sinclar. The original intention was for Halo to launch as a push for the Xbox Live service as a multiplayer title, not just as an exclusive for Microsoft’s new console in itself.

It’s interesting how things have changed but also stayed the same two decades later, as Halo Infinite’s multiplayer has launched on its own in an effort to bring more players in, as the free-to-play title came out three weeks before the adjacent campaign.

Elsewhere Ian Proulux, the CEO of 1047 Games, has claimed that Splitgate and Halo Infinite will help each other in the long run.

“I’m actually glad [Halo Infinite] is out,” Proulx said. “I honestly think that, in the long run, Halo Infinite and Splitgate will help each other. I think that there’s just so much noise and so many battle royales right now, and [these two games] are bringing people over to the arena shooter genre.

“They’ve never played this kind of game [Halo],” Proulx added. “And getting them exposure to that I think is just a good thing for the genre as a whole.”

In other news, the cat ears accessory has finally been added to Halo Infinite’s multiplayer, although they go off sale on December 28. At first spotted on bots in online matchmaking, the sought-after armour piece has now come to the full game.