I actually expected Halo Infinite to hold its ground much better. Instead, it has now dropped to number 49 on Xbox's Most Played Games list, in the U.S., while Halo: The Master Chief Collection sits comfortably at number 30. Truthfully, neither position is particularly impressive compared to the games occupying the very top spots, but Halo Infinite is free-to-play, whereas Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a paid game.
Forgive me for the rather personal tangent as I ignite the age-old debate between classic Halo versus modern Halo. As a fan, I think it's interesting to take a step back and look at how the games are performing on both Xbox and Steam, as they're really the only public metrics we have to go by, and the results genuinely surprised me.
With that in mind, it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer staying power of MCC. It’s also a similar story over on Steam, which isn’t broken down by region, but rather includes everyone playing the game. And well looking at either games 24-hour peak, we notice that Halo: MCC comfortably doubles Halo Infinite’s peak, with MCC peaking at around 5700, whilst Infinite peaks at around 2600 players.
Now, you might be wondering why I decided to dredge up this data, and it's because I think it raises an interesting question about what Halo players actually want from the franchise.
It's easy to look at these numbers and immediately jump to conclusions, but I don't think they're necessarily proof that Halo Infinite is a bad game, nor do I think they prove that classic Halo is inherently better. What they do show is that, years after launch, a collection of older Halo titles continues to attract a larger audience than the franchise's newest entry.
There are plenty of reasons why that could be the case. Halo: The Master Chief Collection offers six mainline Halo games, decades of maps, countless playlists, and multiple generations of Halo design philosophies all under one roof. Infinite, by comparison, is a single experience competing not only with MCC but with the legacy of the entire franchise.
Still, I can't help but find it fascinating that whenever Halo fans are given the choice, so many of them continue to spend their time with the older games. Whether that's nostalgia, preference for classic gameplay, the sheer volume of content, or something else entirely is up for debate, but I don't think it's a trend that's easy to dismiss.
I always like to use opportunities like this to once again beg for Halo: The Master Chief Collection to get mod support on consoles, so if anyone out there is listening, please make it happen.
Other than that, that's really all I have to say on the matter. Which Halo game do you still routinely play? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
