Halo 4 was a learning process, franchise director says

Halo 4 franchise director Frank O'Connor has taken a postmortem-style look back at the game, concluding that 343 Industries first effort in filling the big shoes of departed developer Bungie "wasn't half bad," and helped the studio learn a few things for future iterations of the series.

"There are a ton of things we wish we'd done better," he said in a note to fans on Halo Waypoint. "Features that didn't make it into the final game. Glitches that emerged. Missteps made. DLC fiascos. Communication breakdowns. But there were things that went astonishingly well--the creation of a genuinely competitive AAA studio chief among them. A collection of talent and souls that can do something genuinely amazing on this and next-generation hardware. The overhaul of an amazing game engine--but one that really needed to be overhauled--and an amassed education on systems, people, code and audience that will stand us in great stead for the future."

What they learned should come in handy, as O'Connor has already revealed that Halo 5, or whatever they may call it, is currently in development.

In addition, the blog post set out plans for the rest of the Season 1 Spartan Ops episodes and game updates. The updates begin anew on January 21, with each offering five new co-op missions, two new specializations, and some matchmaking playlists, including the popular Grifball, and some Forge test maps.