Microsoft calls Halo Infinite the ‘biggest launch’ in Halo history

destructoid.com:

Unshakable Halo fans and cautiously hopeful “I’ll play it if it turns out well” onlookers were eager to see how Halo Infinite would land, and — no surprise here now that the launch-window dust has settled — the game was a huge success for 343 Industries. In a tweet today following Microsoft’s Q2 fiscal year 2022 earnings report, the company called Halo Infinite “the biggest launch in Halo franchise history.” The current count: 20 million players.

With over 20 million Spartans joining us so far, we’re thrilled to announce that #HaloInfinite is the biggest launch in Halo franchise history!

Thank you, everyone, for joining us on the next step in this great journey. pic.twitter.com/d4EIsvWYVr

— Halo (@Halo) January 25, 2022

From the outside looking in, that record-breaking status seemed to be where the goalposts were for Halo Infinite. It had to deliver! Not only because it’s been a while and Halo has needed this refresh, but also because momentum is picking up for Xbox at large and Game Pass specifically. There’s the free-to-play multiplayer factor, too.

As a point of comparison — doubly so as a game that has also done particularly well for its respective series — Forza Horizon 5 has clocked in 18 million players, as recapped by Niko Partners senior analyst and Gaming Twitter bestie Daniel Ahmad.

“Of course the context around the [20 million, best-in-series-history] numbers is that Halo Infinite is available on Game Pass (25M subs) and the multiplayer is F2P on all platforms,” noted Ahmad. “However, that’s exactly the strategy for Xbox first-party. Reaches a broader audience than prior games, long-term monetization.”

It’s a good day for Halo fans, even if we’re bummed about the lack of co-op and Forge (for now) and we have