"Viewership is absolutely critical to the success of this ecosystem," wrote Tahir "Tashi" Hasandjekic, head of esports at 343 Industries, the subsidiary of Microsoft that developed "Infinite," in a blog post Jan. 2022. At the time, the HCS was riding high on the popularity of its debut tournament, and the competitive scene was a bright spot in an otherwise dimming constellation. Some of the biggest esports teams in the world, like OpTic Gaming and FaZe Clan, had eagerly joined up for "Halo Infinite," signing veteran stars and top emerging talent. At peak vewiership, more than 267,000 Halo fans were tuned into the game's first major tournament concurrently.

November may also bring a long-awaited fix demanded by the community: new ways to earn experience points. As of now, the game relies on completing challenges that many (including myself) have criticized as too restrictive for a video game meant to be played at a relaxed pace of our choosing. These challenges force players into modes and play styles that they may not necessarily want to play. Going forward, players will experience a new "Match XP beta," along with a new free battle pass. The studio did not expand on how this match experience system works, nor did they detail what this non-season battle pass might look like, but promised updates -- regularly, and soon.

From driverless cars to virtual assistants, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live, work, or travel. It seems like the expertise of AI companies will contribute greatly to global economic growth and productivity. Here are a few industries using AI to create a global impact. Talking about industries implementing AI into their core, the gaming industry has revolutionized the way we used to play games. AI is transforming the future of the gaming industry and AI-based character like'Cortana' is the best example. AI in gaming means adaptive, responsive, and more engaging video game experiences. Halo Infinite is an impeccable example of how AI has bought several exciting new features into gaming.

I think I can make a strong case that "Halo Infinite" can be reasonably compared to "Cyberpunk 2077," the 2020 game that saw many delays and became infamous for being one of the most disastrous big-budget video game launches in history. Yes that game was buggy in ways that "Halo Infinite" isn't (for the most part). But the disappointment around "Cyberpunk 2077" goes beyond glitches. The game was sold to players as an immersive experience where one could reasonably "live" in its futuristic city, yet the final product was a standard, by-the-numbers open-world game a la Grand Theft Auto. The actual immersive, cyberpunk virtual reality that players dreamed of is not in the final product, and to realize it would require basically creating a new game from the ground up.

Seasons in live service games typically lasts for a handful of months. The first season of "Halo Infinite," however, will have lasted six months by May 3, an unusual amount of time in the marketplace. "Halo Infinite" launched with the promise of speeding up seasonal updates, and Staten said work on the third season is also underway.

Sustaining the promise of live service may not appear a huge task for a major studio, but having the capacity to fill out a regular schedule of content for such games is a herculean challenge. Activision-Blizzard famously assigned many of its talented studios to support its Call of Duty games instead of creating new, original games. Its "Call of Duty: Warzone" free-to-play service runs at a tight clip with constant updates, even in between its bimonthly seasons. "Halo Infinite," by comparison, has been listless. All eyes point toward May, six months after its initial release, for the launch of its Season 2 battle pass.

Cortana (Jen Taylor) is one of the first characters that comes to mind when you think of the Halo universe. With a live-action Halo series on the way on Paramount, we thought a guide to Cortana (without giving too much away for those who haven't made their way through all the games) was in order. Cortana serves as a guide and ally to the player throughout Halo gameplay, and in that sense and many others, she is essential to the Halo experience. Her mannerisms as an AI make for a sort of dry humor that makes her stand out among other recurring characters in the game. It will be interesting to see how this character, who fits so easily into the video game format, will be adapted to a live-action television series.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Welcome back to Talking Tech. Brett Molina's off today, but I'm being joined by our colleague, Tech column's Marc Saltzman.

We all have stuff that we've bought ourselves -- or asked others to buy for us -- that makes us happy, even if we suspect our friends may not understand why it's so great. It could be a $100-plus coffee cup that keeps your liquid at the exact right temperature. Or a video game that you've been playing for years. Or a hair styler that is way expensive but would make you look fabulous. We asked the staff of The Verge what some of their guilty pleasures are, and the braver among us volunteered some answers. I'm hesitant to call it a "guilty" pleasure because I have used this $550 (or more) GE Opal 2.0 ice machine every day for nearly a full year and not once have I felt guilt about spending such an obscene amount of cash on a kitchen gadget that does exactly one thing.

Its memory manipulation makes us hyperinflate the value or quality of past relationships, experiences, things we loved. When we see them again, the disappointment can be a shock. No, Speed Racer was not a good cartoon show. No, your grade school crush wasn't that impressed at your spelling test scores. But yes, the first Halo game was, and still is, the greatest first-person shooter video game ever made. It all adds up to an unforgettable experience that begins what becomes an iconic trilogy of titles.