Halo Infinite has had a rocky year to say the least, but, finally, Infinite's Forge mode is finally upon us. There's just one catch, however: you have to be connected to the internet at all times to play the mode.
This is something that has caused many fans to scratch their heads and ponder why 343 might choose to force players into always being online to use their map creator mode. Michael 'Forge Lord' Schoor, Forge's lead designer at 343, took to Twitter to explain the reasoning behind the move.
"We've seen a lot of discussion around why Forge relies on an online connection. Here are some key reasons for this," he says. An image attached to the tweet has further information, stating that all information passing through the company's servers must be secure. "Launching forge on PC means we cannot trust saved content coming directly from a user's local storage," the image reads.
It goes on to state that forcing the mode to run from 343's dedicated servers makes is more secure. Using the dedicated servers also allows the large amounts of data generated by players in Forge to be uploaded much faster since they don't have to rely on their own machines to do the computations.
Finally, it also means that a Forge session will no longer close if the fireteam leader leaves the game, as the dedicated servers can keep the session open as players come and go on the fly.
Is all of this too little too late? Has 343 already bungled Halo Infinite beyond redemption? Many players who believe Forge should have launched alongside the game a year ago are already sceptical, so how Forge is received will either be Halo Infinite's saving grace or death-knell as we look to the future.