Halo: Infinite developer responds to concerns over player customisation

343 Industries has issued a response to players upset by Halo: Infinite's new customisation system. In a series of tweets, community manager John Junyszek attempted to explain the rationale behind the change, stating that the new 'Coatings' are only one part of how you'll choose your look.

Junyszek said he'd seen "a decent amount of confusion around coatings." The system is similar to Destiny 2's Shaders, but the change to the series' longstanding approach customisation was met with significant dissatisfaction from fans after its announcement last week. 

First, Junyszek addressed concerns that new colours would only be purchasable, and players would be able to access the customisation options for free. That's not the case as "there will be all kinds of customization items (including coatings) that can be earned in-game and earned as special rewards." There will be purchases, but they won't be the only way players can get new items.

Junyszek also said that some players had asked for "a hybrid system" where they'd be able to edit their colours while the coating itself was unaffected. Apparently 343 "love" that idea, "but colours and materials are built into each specific coating," meaning it wouldn't have worked out. Fortunately, however, the new system "has allowed [343] to go into greater detail and variation with armor colour, materials, patterns etc."

Elsewhere, Junyszek assures that "uniqueness will not be a problem in Infinite," and says while removing the old system was "a tough call," the hope is that Coatings will "allow for better player expression." He's also "hoping to elaborate on the tech behind Coating in a future Community Update," so hopefully we'll learn more about how the change will work in the not-too-distant future.

Halo Infinite won't be one of them, but here are the Xbox Series X launch games.