343i Removes Land Grab Playlist From Halo Infinite

The Land Grab playlist is being removed next week as player counts dwindle.

By Matthew Toledo September 17, 2022

Halo Infinite’s dedicated land grab playlist is being removed, according to 343i. The land grab mode was added during the limited-time Fractured: Entrenched event in May. The mode would later have its own permanent playlist but is being removed on Tuesday, September 20th.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The land grab playlist is being removed early next week.
Land Grab will still exist as a game mode, but it will not have its own dedicated playlist.
343i attributes the removal of playlists due to a fragmented player base.

One of the sole reasons for 343i removing the mode is due to the effect of rotating playlists on the player base of the game. According to 343i. As more modes are added and playlists created, players are fragmented and the quality of matches declines.

When it comes to playlist management, the team’s priorities are offering variety and breadth of experiences, focusing on the things that are most popular to players (while improving and evolving those that are less popular), and maintaining the best player experience possible.

In general, when new playlists are added, there’s a likelihood that overall match quality declines as the player population is spread across more options (unless, of course, a suitable influx of incremental new players is seen). As a result, some playlists become “unhealthy,” meaning they will experience longer than desired wait times, degraded online performance due to smaller populations around specific data centers, and/or larger than desired variances in player skill levels. Each of these factors can contribute negatively to the overall experience, with the worst case being some players have such a bad time that they move on entirely.“

This does not mean that Land Grab will be removed from the game altogether. The mode will return for the final weeks of the Entrenched Event, beginning the weeks of September 27th and October 25th. Land Grab will be vaulted, however, 343i will bring the mode back during November’s winter event.

Previously the game mode Last Spartan Standing had its dedicated playlist removed. The game mode launched with the start of Halo Infinite Season 2 but saw a decline in activity as less than 1% of players chose to play the mode.

“Most recently, Last Spartan Standing was removed as a dedicated playlist due to it no longer sustaining a suitable level of engagement to hit the match quality and player experience bars the team has set. For context, LSS accounted for less than 1% of all player activity (despite it also being some players’ personal favorite mode).”

While 343i rotates playlists in and out, players will have unlimited customization of games and modes when Halo Infinite’s forge mode releases this November.

While many players who enjoy these limited-time modes may be disappointed, 343 says it must focus on the game’s most popular modes in order to “offer experiences players want while also maintaining that high-quality bar we have for ourselves”

343 will continue to explore playlist rotations in ways to best benefit the player.

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