Halo Infinite Scraps One of the Series Most Iconic Guns – ComicBook.com

When Halo Infinite releases later this year via the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, it will be missing one of the series’ most iconic guns, and according to 343 Industries, it’s because nobody actually uses it, at least in multiplayer. In both multiplayer and the game’s campaign, players will have a new rapid-firing automatic shotgun to enjoy, called the Bulldog. And rather than have two shotguns competing against each other in the meta, 343 Industries has added the Bulldog in the place of the game’s classic and standard shotgun, which has been in every Halo game since the series inception on the original Xbox.

As you would expect, this decision has stirred up substantial controversy and it has the potential to stir up more backlash at release if the Bulldog isn’t up to snuff. That said, according to Quinn DelHoyo, lead sandbox designer on the game over at 343 Industries, part of the reason 343 Industries felt like they needed to change things up was because the old shotgun wasn’t being used very much, which many find hard to believe, but you’d assume this assertion is backed with extensive data.

According to DelHoyo, the new shotgun isn’t as powerful as the old shotgun, but it fires and reloads far quicker. Of course, part of the fun of using a shotgun is how reliant on accuracy it is. If you weren’t accurate with your first couple shots of the old shotgun, you were usually toast. It made using the weapon a serious gamble, but the feeling when it paid off was great. However, it sounds like the Bulldog will be less punishing with its faster fire rate and reload time. And it also sounds like it could have more overlap with the SMG class, which would defeat the purpose of having a shotgun class in the first place.

“The Bulldog is a versatile weapon that provides the player with the role of a shotgun and up-close playstyle more frequently in multiplayer than previous Halo titles as it is lower on the lethality scale of weapons and thus more prevalent,” added David Price, the game’s lead weapons designer.

Beyond multiplayer, it remains to be seen what in the campaign will provide the same satisfying feeling of mowing down enemies with the punch the classic shotgun provided. That said, you have to imagine multiplayer takes precedence over the campaign as it will be multiplayer that will keep players around long after launch and that will generate the bulk of revenue over time.