Microsoft wants to elevate Halo to a new status in the esports scene with the launch of Halo Infinite. The game, which will be launching on December 8, will be doing so with nine partnered teams all vying for the spot of the best Halo team on the planet.
The roster of teams is made up of some of esports heaviest hitters, and consists of Cloud9, Envy, eUnited, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, Sentinels, and Spacestation Gaming. The best part, these organizations bring some serious beef with them from other esports, so fans of the teams will have plenty to worry about when it comes to bragging rights.
The upcoming sixth series of the Halo Championship Series will get a new lease on life as it seems unlikely that these massive organizations would divert the resources to building teams for competitive Halo if they did not feel it had a bright future and proper investment from Microsoft.
Developing a true esport scene is a difficult thing to do, however. Advantages gained can be easily squandered, as we saw with the loss of dominance, the prominence of Starcraft over the years. Even getting started is tough, as it can be hard to carve out a viewership among the first-person shooters, battle royales, and MOBAs of the world.
Whether Microsoft can really elevate Halo to the point where it takes a Spartan-sized bite out of the billion-dollar esports market remains to be scene. If the company has shown one thing lately, however, it is that they are willing to put their money where their mouth is.
