We finally have a release window for Halo Infinite – the next chapter in Master Chief’s story, coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.
Halo Infinite is easily one of the most highly-anticipated Xbox Series X games on the horizon, and it promises to reboot the Halo franchise from the ground up. The new Halo was supposed to be a launch title for Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S consoles, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and less than favorable feedback from fans after its gameplay reveal. Halo Infinite is currently scheduled to arrive during «Holiday 2021», which falls between November and early January, with a firm release date yet to be confirmed. Now that technical previews for the game are underway and being well-received, things appear to be on track. Described as a «spiritual reboot» by developer 343 Industries, Halo Infinite will continue the series’ ongoing story when it comes to Xbox One, PC (including Steam), Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The game will also come to Xbox Game Pass on day one and support ray-tracing, which will be added in a post-launch patch. Microsoft has also promised Xbox Series X players will enjoy an optimized version of the game, with «up to 4k resolution at 60fps in campaign and greatly reduced load times creating seamless gameplay that ushers in the next generation of gaming». Want to learn more? Read on for more Halo Infinite news, updates and gameplay trailers. [Update: Halo Infinite could soon get another beta test, this time focused on PvP. Read on to find out more.] For months, Microsoft and 343 Industries touted a 2020 release date that coincided with the launch of the Xbox Series X (though Halo Infinite will be a cross-generation title). Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. On August 11, 2020 Microsoft and 343 announced that Halo Infinite would be delayed until 2021 to give the team more time to polish the game, and hopefully give gamers a better experience at launch. The move was made to also preserve the health of the development team who, during the impact of coronavirus, has had to adapt to entirely different working conditions and a number of logistical issues. Here’s the full tweet for context: We now know that Halo Infinite will release in «Holiday 2021». A November release date looks most likely, especially given that a Halo Infinite actor recently stated the game has been «pushed to later November this year» and that Halo’s 20th anniversary takes place on November 15,2021. Whether Halo infinite will land on the actual anniversary remains to be seen. November 15 falls on a Monday, while games typically release on Tuesday in the US and Friday in the UK, but it would make sense if Halo Infinite came out during the week of its anniversary, so a November 16 release date isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. That’s potentially a whole year after Xbox Series X launched, but 343 Industries are confident the delay will result in a vastly better game. 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross has offered assurance to fans that while «the wait has been difficult», the delay means that the developer can give fans «the Halo game you deserve». Halo Infinite kicked off the show during Microsoft’s Xbox Game Showcase event in July 2020, and as you can see from the trailer above, it’s a very reminiscent of Halo: Combat Evolved. There’s a familiarity to the verdant environments, as well as iconic weapons on display as well as vehicles from the long-running series, including the Warthog. It’s reassuringly Halo-like, but leagues ahead in terms of presentation compared to the older games. This is a more open world-looking Halo game, though, with an in-game map called the ‘TacMap’ that shows how you can explore different parts of this extra-sized Halo ring and tackle certain missions, each of which have their own difficult rating.343 Industries says the environment in Halo Infinite is «several times larger than that of the last two Halo games combined» and we can see that there is a day and night cycle in play. In the menu screen, we also see an item called ‘Upgrades’, suggesting you can make RPG-style improvements to Master Chief, which would be a first for the series. We also see some of the Banished, Halo Infinite’s main alien antagonists who were previously seen in Halo Wars 2. In the story, the Banished, led by Brute War Chief Escharum, have declared victory over the UNSC forces and taken over a Halo ring. This is Chief’s first encounter with the Banished. Some of the Covenant enemy types here look familiar, too, but the presence of the Banished should present a new spin on the Brute enemies from classic Halo games like Halo 3. We see a grappling hook revealed (technically called a Grappleshot), too, which lets you pull Master Chief towards enemies and objects, or help him reach higher ground to deliver fire from above. There’s a glimpse of a Drop Shield, too, which offers the Chief protection from enemy fire when out in the field. These new additions are designed to help you personalize your approach to combat in Halo Infinite, and seem to be more fleshed out than Halo 5’s rather limited Spartan abilities. Despite some rather unglamorous screenshots, Halo Infinite still appears to be a beautiful-looking showcase of what the Xbox Series X is capable of, and an exciting teaser of more to come from 343 Industries. The game is built on 343’s new Slipspace Engine and, although Microsoft confirmed that the gameplay wasn’t running on an Xbox Series X, it was at least on a PC that’s “representative of the experience players will have on Xbox Series X”. 343 Industries shared a deep dive into Halo Infinite’s multiplayer mode, and it provides a great insight into what players can expect. We get to see Big Team Battle, the types of customization options that await, as well as closer look at the game in action. Check it out below. 343 Industries showcased Halo Infinite’s multiplayer mode for the very first time during E3 2021. We saw the return of the iconic announcer, fan-favorite weapons like the Energy Sword, and new items that are bound to mix up the series’ classic multiplayer action. There’s also a slew of vehicles to commandeer and use against the enemy team. Microsoft began its Xbox Games Showcase for the Xbox Series X with a beautiful-looking CG teaser trailer for Halo Infinite, followed by the gameplay demo above. The first trailer shows Master Chief’s Mjolnir armor being reforged. Check it out below: Check out the Halo Infinite 2019 E3 teaser below too, in case you missed that: Halo Infinite was officially announced during Microsoft’s E3 2018 conference, with the below teaser. We’ve finally seen Halo Infinite’s multiplayer in action, which you can watch above, and it looks like it’s going to be a blast. We saw what appeared to be a mix of classic Halo action mixed with new ideas, such as the grappling hook which will provide more verticality than in previous games. Classic modes such as Capture the Flag and Oddball return, as well as the game’s legendary announcer, and it looks like there will be plenty of vehicles for players to hijack and use on the enemy team. Halo Infinite’s multiplayer mode will be free-to-play for the first time in the series, and will run at 120fps for those with capable displays. The game will also feature cross-play and cross-progression on Xbox and PC. Testing for multiplayer elements has begun ( with more to come) and the first technical preview gave Halo Insiders the chance to face off against the series’ first AI bots. While not everyone is getting the chance to test the game,343 Industries has uploaded an overview of its first technical preview which gives a look at some of the gameplay in action. Initial testing of the multiplayer has been generally well received. The first multiplayer details spilled out as early as 2017 when head of 343 Industries, Bonnie Ross, confirmed that the game would include split-screen co-op multiplayer at DICE 2017. The decision to remove split-screen co-op from Halo 5: Guardians, in favor of an online-only version, was met with criticism from fans, as it had been a staple Halo feature that had been around since the first game was released in 2001. Ross said Halo 5’s removal was “painful”, adding that «it erodes trust with the community. [We’ve had a] lot of learnings from that, and I would say for any FPS going out forward we will always have split screen going forward.» Commitment to split-screen was reiterated in an Xbox Wire post during E3 2019, where Community Director Brian Jarrard said that split-screen support would make its long-awaited return to the series. Since then, we’ve learned that while Halo Infinite will restore this fan-favorite feature, multiplayer will be quite different to other entries in the series with regards to its frame rate and resolution. According to a tweet from the official Halo account, Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will run at 120fps and will also be free-to-play. In 2021, it was confirmed in an Xbox Wire blog post that Halo Infinite will support cross-platform multiplayer and cross-progression between Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Essentially meaning PC players can play with those on Xbox consoles while multiplayer customization and progress will carry across all platforms. We’ve also been given a first look at an armor render from the upcoming game. In the a Halo Waypoint update,343 Industries showed the Mark VII Mjolnir armor in a Monarch coasting. The render is marked as a work-in-progress so could be subject to change, but we expect this will be a customization option for the game’s multiplayer mode. Since the multiplayer reveal at E3 2021, we’ve learned even more about it through a deep-dive and a Halo Waypoint blog post. The first season of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is titled «Heroes of Reach» and Head of Creative for Halo Infinite, Joseph Staten, said that 343 Industries has “a goal to deeply root your Multiplayer character in the larger Halo universe and give them a vital, active role in the Halo story moving forward.” Heroes of Reach was chosen as the first season for “very specific reasons”, according to Staten who explained, “Reach has a rich history; it’s a key location for Spartans of old and a focal point for a new generation of Spartans preparing to wrestle with the perils and mysteries of a galaxy that has fundamentally changed after the events of Halo 5.” The first season “takes place at a transformational moment in Halo history—at the pivot point from one generation of heroes to the next” and, Staten adds, “your Multiplayer hero is waiting just offstage, geared up for battle and ready to spring into action.” It’s been confirmed that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer seasons will last three months, with Live Team Design Director, Ryan Paradis, saying the reason for this time frame is “because it gives players a good amount of time to experience and explore the Seasonal content, without it getting tiresome and without constantly pulling the rug from under players.» As rumored, Halo Infinite will indeed include a battle pass system which, the team says, it hopes will be «player-first». The aim with Halo Infinite’s battle passes is to avoid the feeling of grind and, for that reason, they won’t expire. Ryan Paradis explained this, saying, “Season 1 Battle Pass will be around forever; you can always go back, select that as your active Battle Pass and continue to earn progress in it.” “If you decided to take a Season off,» Paradis went on, «or you simply didn’t have time to play, that’s fine. You can always go back and purchase any prior Battle Pass as well. Additionally, our passes will always include various free rewards in addition to the premium track. This goes back to a few pillars of ours: Provide unambiguous value and maintain that player-first focus.” The idea behind permanent Battle Passes is that it will remove the grind and sense of obligation to play that can sometimes arise with timed-access. “We want it to be a supplemental reward stream for the time you were already putting into the game,” Paradis explained, “I for one can’t stand it when I’m playing a game JUST to complete the Battle Pass – it feels like a chore to me.” In a December 2020 Halo Waypoint post lead progression designer Christopher Blohm confirmed “that there will be some premium cosmetics, but players will still obtain tons of customisation content through things like playing campaign, challenges, skill, special events, legacy rewards (such as the Halo 5 SR 152 reward), the progression system, and more.” He added “Players that play for free will be able unlock items across a multitude of different customisation types to allow them to represent themselves in-game.” Blohm also made it clear that there will be “No loot boxes. No randomness or items that influence the sandbox and gameplay.” You can check out the interior space of one of Halo Infinite’s work-in-progress maps below. Below we’ve gathered up the latest news and rumors around Halo Infinite. More testing on the horizon with a PvP focus The first Halo Infinite multiplayer beta may be over, but developer 343 Industries is already considering holding another one focused on PvP. On Twitter, Halo Community Director at 343 Industries Brian Jarrard thanked Halo Insiders for participating in the Halo Infinite technical preview in July and explained the next steps 343 Industries intends to take. Jarrard revealed that the developer is hoping to host another «larger-scale flight» that is «properly focused on PvP and other elements of the [multiplayer] experience». There’s no definite timing for this second multiplayer beta but they have encouraged those who want to take part to sign up to the Halo Insider Program to be in with a chance of participating. Halo Infinite battle royale rumors resurface It looks like Halo Infinite could be getting a battle royale mode, at least according to a voice file found by dataminers. As spotted by PCGamesN, dataminers have already found spoilers relating to Halo Infinite’s campaign in the game’s technical preview, but now a voice recording performed by the game’s legendary multiplayer announcer, Jeff Stitzer, has also been discovered. In the voice clip, Stitzer can clearly be heard saying «Battle Royale.» As Halo fans will be all too aware, the game’s announcer always calls out the multiplayer mode you’re playing before a match begins. This voice recording doesn’t necessarily confirm that Halo Infinite will definitely get a battle royale mode, though. As commenters on Resetera have rightly pointed out, the developers could have had Stitzer record this clip for any number of reasons. It could be for a future update or even a custom game mode, but there’s no doubt that 343 Industries has at least thought about the possibility.
