Former Xbox Chief Don Mattrick Pushed Halo 4 Auction House When Game Was 90% Done
Updated
Updated · Kotaku · Jul 7
Former Xbox Chief Don Mattrick Pushed Halo 4 Auction House When Game Was 90% Done
3 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Jul 7
Summary
Dan Callan, a former Halo 4 mission designer, said Don Mattrick proposed adding a Diablo 3-style real-money auction house to sell Mantis mech skins late in development.
Callan said the pitch came when Halo 4 was about 90% finished, after Mattrick interrupted a demo by asking whether anyone had played Diablo 3.
The feature was never added, and Callan described the team as outwardly indulging the idea while privately viewing it as obviously bad given the backlash to Diablo 3's auction house.
The anecdote surfaced a day after major Xbox layoffs, adding to criticism that game executives are disconnected from both developers and players.