Halo 5: Guardians Was Built For eSports, Says Studio Head
The Halo World Championship began just a few days ago, offering the largest prize pool in console eSports history with $2.5 million up for grabs. According to 343 Industries' Transmedia Studio Head, Kiki Wolfkill, Halo 5: Guardians was built with the eSports world in mind from the get-go.
In an interview with Fortune, Wolfkill explained how Halo's history in eSports influenced the development of the multiplayer aspect: "eSports was a core consideration from the very beginning. We engaged with members of the Halo pro player community early, as well as used the expertise of the ex-pro Halo players on our own development team, integrating them both into our design process."
"Our goal was to build an Arena multiplayer experience that catered specifically to the aspiring eSports player, rewarding pure skill-based play within a sandbox that’s hyper-competitive."
"In fact, we realized that to really polish and balance Halo 5’s multiplayer to where it needs to be, we had to hire our own team of pro players to work alongside our designers to really tighten the game."
The Halo World Championship finishes up later today, starting at 4pm PST on Twitch.
