The Halo franchise generally does not include artificial intelligence in multiplayer games, but a recent find by a player in Halo: The Master Chief Collection signals that might change in the future. According to Twitter user RejectedShotgun, an image titled “ADD_BOT.png” was found by Twitter user Foxie1337 in the recent update files for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
The image is an icon showing a plus symbol next to a silhouette of a Spartan, but it is unclear exactly where on the user interface that the icon would go. Some players theorize it could be a selectable option in multiplayer lobbies, while others suggest it could be a menu option usable while playing Halo. Either way, the icon’s purpose is still a mystery, but that hasn’t stopped players from thinking about the implications of its inclusion.
Bots in video games are generally used instead of players when matchmaking systems don’t fill up a lobby. They are AI-controlled players who theoretically partake in the game the exact same way a regular player would – although, many games have issues getting bots to function 100 percent correctly. Plenty of games have had the option to add a bot or teams of bots to multiplayer games, notably the Counter-Strike franchise and the recent Star Wars Battlefront games, but Halo has yet to.
The only Halo games with bot enemies (not including single-player campaigns) are the Halo Wars games. There are some mods to the original Halo trilogy that allow for computer-controlled opponents, but generally the series has been without bot support. Additionally, the only way to get modded bots to work in multiplayer is to have custom pathing coded for each map. As the original games’ maps don’t have pathing, only specific modded maps can be used.
If the option to include bots in multiplayer is added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, fans speculate it has the potential to be good or bad. Bots could make for more consistently full lobbies, but aside from other informational breadcrumbs in the past that hint at their inclusion, nothing official has been confirmed.
On one hand, bots can outplay humans easily if not programmed correctly, and teamplay behaviors for the series’ countless game modes might be difficult to implement accurately. On the other hand, the move could be a huge benefit for casual players and modders, and it will be a huge boost that populates small private servers too. Time will tell whether they are added into the collection.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
