Inadvertently off for two weeks, we’re through our first Season 3 Fracture event, but plenty of other things are coming around the corner Halo Infinite as more stories unfold. Talking of stories, we enter our campaign discussions again with The Sequence, Nexus and The Control Spire, where we encounter the tension between Chief and the Weapon come to a head.

Season 3 had a great opening with Chasm and Cliffhanger in Arena’s Featured playlist, but now it’s Big Team Battle’s turn, and Oasis has proven to be quite the fan favorite as we’ve gotten a few take on Fiesta with campaign upgraded sandbox items and Escalation Slayer. Besides Season 3 updates, not much more to see here this week.

Season 3 is here and boy have we missed new content. Aside from a bit of a rocky start on the game server side, it seems like everyone has enjoyed the latest maps, modes and equipment, hopefully a sign of great things to come and a solid seasonal release. Of course there’s always the saying, “we’ll have to wait and see,” but it seems like 343 is getting on track and hitting some high marks once again.

Season 3 brings along three new multiplayer maps, weapons, equipment, matchmaking improvements and story lines that has piqued the community’s interest and hopefully is the start of renewed interest in Halo Infinite. The shakeup at the studio hasn’t seemed to impact the rollout of new content and the train seems to be getting up to full speed. HCS Charlotte also saw the Green Wall continue their dominance as Optic Gaming took home the trophy.

The largest content update is about to hit Halo Infinite since launch, and a lot of folks are happy with what’s coming. A new BTB map, two Arena maps, Escalation Slayer, Shroud Screen, Bandit, Armor, Narrative and more are on their way in just a few days. 343 has been kicking things into high gear lately and it seems like the content train is finally catching up. Also this weekend is HCS Charlotte, the first stop in the second season of competitive Halo for Infinite.

Dust Storm and Godzilla T are joined by two of Podtacular’s Patreon supporters: PensHalo and Confal. As long time members of the Podtacular community, they share a lot of the same Halo interests as our hosts. With the recent changes to 343 and the upcoming season, we get their thoughts on what’s coming up for Halo.

In a last minute surprise before season 3 comes to Halo Infinite next month, 343 has introduced the Community Collection playlist, bringing community Forged content to Matchmaking in an evergreen playlist that will be continuously updated. After a lot of community outcry from not enough content since launch, this is a welcomed addition to the online experience. We also received the HCS Season 2 roadmap (hope you live near Texas), a new Halo Waypoint Chronicle, and more!

According to a recent Bloomberg report, 343 Industries is “all but starting from scratch” when it comes to the future of the Halo franchise, with now over more than 90 confirmed departures from 343 along with additional contractors, it seems like the development of Halo is undergoing large restructuring for the immediate plans of Infinite’s live service and the next gaming experiences. Rumors involve the next experience expanding on the alleged Tatanka battle royale type mode being more fleshed out into a separate title on the Unreal engine to match 343’s new direction with Unreal. While there’s cause for uncertainty, this isn’t the first time we’ve had a major shift in the direction of Halo. For those sticking around we’re along for the ride with you.

Halo is staying in house with 343 industries as Pierre Hintze announced last week after more than 60 full-time employees were let go, but with that many people gone, there’s sure to be some slowdown of certain development and support at the studio. We know the roadmap for Halo Infinite has been laid out for a few more seasons at least with Season 3 still on target to release March 7th, but past that, what does the future of Halo Infinite look like? We’re still living in some uncertainty in the aftermath of this loss and we’ll probably never know the full extent of the impact, but there will be one regardless. That’s what we’re talking about in this episode.

Hard news hits this week as a result of Microsoft letting go 10,000 employees over the next six months, starting this week where over 60 343 employees, mostly from the campaign team, were let go. This sudden announcement has a lot of us in shock and anxious about the future of Halo, let alone the impact this has on all the folks who suddenly find themselves without a job. We hope all our friends who were let go are able to bounce back.