The Halo Combat Evolved Mark V armor has finally been released for Halo Infinite, much to the delight of series fans eager to dive into nostalgic multiplayer. However, the cost of the microtransactions has already sparked a heated debate.
The iconic armor worn by Master Chief in Bungie’s groundbreaking 2001 Xbox shooter Halo Combat Evolved is recreated in Infinite’s Mjolnir Mark V kit. It only comes in a bundle that costs 2,200 Credits, or $19.99 / £15.99. The bundle comes with the Mark V kit in addition to the Aurum Evolved visor, the Viridescent Ring armor coating, and the Cinder Ring armor coating.
It’s safe to say that among Infinite players, the Mark V armor is the most desired cosmetic, and it appears to be selling nicely as well. With its multiplayer available for free, Halo Infinite shot up 41 spots in Steam’s top-selling games by revenue chart. Sales of the Mark V armor undoubtedly contributed greatly to this increase.
Though it costs more than many full-price games, including Halo Combat Evolved, some Halo fans are complaining about it. A large portion of the current sentiment is composed of gamers who become angry over the price of cosmetic items in modern video games. Numerous microtransaction controversies have surfaced in 2023, involving titles such as Diablo 4, Overwatch 2, EA Sports FC 24, and many more. Expensive skins are sold in live service games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and others; Halo Infinite’s most recent addition is just one example.
“You know that a bundle of maps used to cost $10,” Imareallyneato wrote in a Reddit thread. The way we’ve arrived at this point is disconcerting and depressing.
Actually, Halo Infinite has been selling legendary armor sets for $20 apiece for a while now. It used to sell used Halo Reach armor for $20 two years ago. Thus, despite being upsetting, 343’s pricing has not changed.
Though there have been monetization controversies, Halo Infinite has experienced a slight comeback recently, and Season 5 is generally well-received. In response to public outcry, the studio took action earlier this month to clarify a recent increase in microtransaction prices.
After its release, Halo Infinite saw a sharp decline in sales as players became dissatisfied with the game’s subpar progression systems, lack of modes, and monetization. Along with these contentious choices, 343 also decided to discontinue split-screen multiplayer. The actual Forge mode didn’t come out until a year after the online campaign cooperative launch. It seems that 343 has also moved on from Halo Infinite’s campaign. Following substantial layoffs at the studio, the developer of Halo Infinite revealed in June that it had abandoned the game’s narrative-driven seasonal cutscenes.
“As we’ve refined our top priorities and shifted resources internally this year, we had to make the decision to forego seasonal narrative cutscenes to make room for the team to continue focusing on highly requested features, content, and improvements for Halo Infinite,” 343 stated at the time.
The reference to “shifted resources” may have been a reference to the layoffs that occurred earlier this year, which resulted in Joseph Staten, the director of Halo Infinite, leaving the developer. In response to the layoffs, 343 was compelled to state that “Halo and Master Chief are here to stay” and that it “will continue to develop Halo now and in the future, including epic stories, multiplayer, and more of what makes Halo great”.
Instead of using the internal Slipspace engine, the developer is allegedly working on a new Halo project code-named Tatanka, which is built on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.FG
