Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp removal in the Winter Update leaves a number of players frustrated

343 Industries rolled out its Winter Update for Halo Infinite yesterday and although the prevailing sentiment regarding the additions of campaign co-op, Forge beta mode and mission replays is positive, there is one glaring change that is leaving many Infinite fans feeling upset; namely, the removal of the Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp mode.

Halo Infinite bot bootcamp was a playlist designed to acclimate players to the game’s multiplayer mechanics by pitting them against AI-controlled bots. Per the playlist description: “Start your journey in Halo Infinite multiplayer! Practice against Marine-level bots as a team of 4. Learn to play both Slayer and Objective gametypes on a variety of Arena maps.”

Additionally, Bot Bootcamp would grant XP towards the season’s Battle Pass, making it a haven for players who weren’t fond of/weren’t ready for the fast-paced action of the PVP playlists and Match Making Rating (MMR) where they could quietly grind and unlock cosmetics and armors at their own leisure.

343 Industries

On the surface, the Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp removal seems inconsequential, but to a surprising number of players — particularly those that want to enjoy the game in more casual fashion with their friends or loved ones that aren’t veterans of the game’s PVP mode — it’s a big deal. And a change that seems unwarranted at that. Halo Infinite players took to some of the most popular forums for the game to voice their displeasure, many citing reasons for 343 Industries to reconsider the Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp removal.

“So with the new Winter update, Bot Bootcamp is officially gone and I’m not happy about it at all,” said Reddit user Omisake. “I have a couple friends who are absolutely horrible at FPS games and sometimes they wanna play Infinite with me so we just play Bot Bootcamp and they love it.

“And the same goes with one of my cousins,” Omisake added, “who has a disability and doesn’t stand a chance against regular people online, so I would play Bot Bootcamp with him. It makes me really sad because I don’t even know how to tell him we can’t play it anymore.

Sure, I know this may sound dramatic to some, but this genuinely breaks my heart, because I know it’ll make my cousin really sad. And for a kid who can’t communicate ‘normally,’ and doesn’t really have friends and stuff, us being able to spend time together on his favourite game and doing something that makes him so happy brings me unmatched joy and it just sucks it’ll be no more.”

343 Industries

Reddit user IJustWantAGTR added, “It just does not make sense to pull Bot Bootcamp. Nobody is negatively affected even if somebody wants to 25/50 stomp AI all night and still unlock things. I’m a casual player of this installment, but I’ve put my fair share of time in the franchise. This game is the first where there felt like no not sweaty gamemodes [Editor’s Note: a “sweat” or “sweaty” player in video games is one that goes to egregious lengths to showcase their skills in a game or on another player even if it’s not necessary].”

IJustWantAGTR went on to list the beneficial purposes that Bot Bootcamp mode served for the fanbase, including the fact that it’s “a great place to practice weapons/techniques,” as well as being a mode where people can play at a slower pace.

“It’s a great place to explore the game,” they added, noting that not only could one explore the different PVP maps but also take the pressure off other players that would find frustration in having a teammate that might be seen as burdensome or less-skilled. “Playing your style, finding it in a casual way and knowing you aren’t screwing others over by relaxing and just playing the game is nice. It’s great to be able to progress and relax!”

AceParty from ResetEra reiterated the disappointed sentiment. “Personally, I was very disappointed to notice the absence of the playlist once I installed the Winter update yesterday. This playlist was a good way to chill with some friends and family that are not good enough in PvP while leveling up. By removing this playlist, 343i is about to lose another small part of their audience. You still have PvE via campaign co-op now and bots in custom games but you cannot matchmake with other people and you don’t level up which was the point. Also the lack of communication from 343i about removing this playlist wasn’t cool. They mentioned the new playlists added to the game but never clearly specified that they will retire the bot playlist.”

AceParty went on to propose one plausible reason for why the Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp removal took place, that being that victories in the bot playlist actually influenced your MMR in the actual PVP playlist. “343i maybe, wasn’t able to fix that issue and this could be one of the reason they removed the playlist, but if that’s the case, they could simply put a warning,” AceParty added.

Twitter users like Spartinel expressed their disappointment in typical Twitter fashion too:

What do you think of the Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp removal in the Winter Update? Do you think 343 Industries will give sound reasoning as to why the mode was removed or do you believe that the removal stems from the Bot Bootcamp mode being unconducive to the game’s remunerative avenues? Sound off in the comments.

If you feel strongly about the Halo Infinite Bot Bootcamp removal take a minute and sign our petition for the reinstatement of Bot Bootcamp in Halo Infinite.

Update, 11/10/22: Brian Jarrard, Community Director at 343 Industries, replied to a Twitter post stating that the Bot Bootcamp will return in the future. “It’ll take some time; the team wants to look at some potential tweaks. More details to come,” Jarrard said.

We’ll keep you updated as more on the situation develops.