Halo Infinite remains to be on the top of gamers' minds despite all the reworks and delays the game has gone through. Although Xbox and developer 343 Industries have shown a few trailers and little gameplay of the Master Chief's next adventure, there's plenty of information to mine out of them. If you're looking for everything you need to know about Halo Infinite, from the release date to all the new weapons in the game, you've come to the right place.
Halo Infinite will release on December 8, 2021. The game was slated for a Holiday 2021 release date until the official release date was announced during an Opening Night Live Stream at Gamescom 2021. Halo Infinite will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
Halo Infinite was originally scheduled to launch during holiday 2020 but an announced delay in August 2020 pushed the release date back into an unlisted date in 2021.
The game is slated to launch on Xbox Series X, PC, and Xbox One with Smart Delivery support and it will be optimized for every platform.
The current Halo Infinite beta flight is running from Friday, Sept. 24, 2021 until Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. There's also another upcoming beta flight from Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 until Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. If you want to join the multiplayer beta, you;ll have to sign up for the Halo Insider Program following these steps:
To date, we've seen exactly nine minutes of campaign gameplay that was shown during the 2020 Xbox Games Showcase Livestream. From that footage, it was clear Halo Infinite was designed with more open-world gameplay in mind, to give players more freedom.
Rather than linear levels, the Master Chief will be able to explore around an entire halo ring where players might come across a skull in the environment or happen upon a Covenant outpost.
Playing as the Master Chief will also feel different this time since he now has upgrades and a tech tree. Over time, players will unlock new equipment such as a drop shield and a grappling hook. Halo games in the past have had upgrades like rocket packs and armor locks, but instead of limited pickups, it appears these upgrades will stay throughout your playthrough.
Unfortunately, dual-wielding won't be coming back once again, but you can potentially knock enemies off of the halo ring.
Of course, Halo Infinite will have multiplayer and it's even free to play now. What's more, the game is changing quite a bit with a new weapons, equipment, vehicles, a story campaign tie-in, and so much more.
First up Arena 4v4 competitive modes are coming back to Halo Infinite. Additionally, big team battle mode is back so you can have large 24 player matches with vehicle-infused combat.
Equipment like overshields and active camouflage are also back along with a few new additions like a forward facing drop shield and grappling hook. What's different about equipment now is it's stored in your inventory until you use it. But just be aware that any equipment you're holding when killed will drop for the enemy to pick up.
Power weapons and vehicle drops will still be a Halo multiplayer staple. But instead of simply having these objects spawn in the game, Pelicans will deliver vehicles while pods will rain from the sky to drop weapons.
Multiplayer will also tie-in with the story campaign as all matches revolve around the new spartan recruits training under Commander Laurette Agryna. This sort of training academy will serve as a hub for the game's multiplayer campaign and integrates it into the main story.
Halo Infinite is trying to more appealing to begineers by adding a training mode, which allows them to play against bots and learn the maps in an offline enviornment. There's also a few "training wheels" options that let you enable handicaps like invincibilty and infinite ammo.
Additionally, players can use Halo Academy weapon drills to get familiar with the game's full assortment of weapons. After firing up this mode, you're dropped into a firing range that lets you practice using weapons through a series of drills with moving and non-moving targets. The trials start with stationary bots, then bots running in a straight line, and last bots moving around at random.
For even more information about Halo Infinite's multiplayer features be sure to check out our article on six more things you need to know.
Halo's graphics have been a hot debate for years. After strong community feedback over Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Wars 2, 343 Industries went back to more legacy aesthetics pulled from the original trilogy.
Unfortunately, even with the new/old art style, the community wasn't satisfied with the visual fidelity Halo Infinite presented. The gameplay demo was filled with object pop-in, plastic-like textures, and flat lighting. To that end, 343 Industries has promised to raise the overall level of fidelity and presentation of the final game.
Halo Infinite and its story were teased in a trailer at E3 2018, a cinematic trailer called Discover Hope at E3 2019 with a secret audio message from Cortana, and a teaser video with a message from The Banished.
In July 2020, IGN got a chance to sit down with 343 Industries developers Chris Lee and Paul Crocker to reveal more about the game’s story and villain. First off, Halo Infinite takes place well after the ending of Halo 5, and Master Chief is even more of a man out of time than he was at the start of Halo 4.
So far, trailers have shown a pilot finding the Master Chief floating in space, and apparently, this takes place when the UNSC and Earth have much less influence on the galaxy. Meanwhile, the latest developer commentary trailer from the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase during E3 2021, shows us Cortana is returning to the series in one form or another.
The back and forth between the Master Chief and this new AI reveals the rogue and rampant Cortana was captured and scheduled for deletion, but plans didn't go as anticipated. The trailer ends with the Master Chief inserting the new Cortana-look-alike into the back of his helmet, just like his old virtual companion.
But what is clear is Halo Infinite’s main enemies are The Banished – a rogue faction of Brutes from Halo Wars 2. The main villain is the banished’s leader War Chief Escharum who has taken control of the halo ring as his last stand against the Master Chief.
There could also be another mystery character that’ll play into the story that’s called “The Harbinger,” which may or may not be Cortana.
343 Industries confirmed Halo infinite’s story campaign will support co-op for two players in local split-screen and four players while online.
Yes, in fact, Halo Infinite players will be able to customize their Spartans to an even greater degree than ever before. This time around players will be able to change the body shape of their characters if they want someone tall and lean or short and stocky, and anywhere in between. Players can even choose if they want any prosthetic limbs.
From there, players will have a ton of armor pieces to choose from including helmets, shoulders, chest pieces, and more.
Each multiplayer season will add new pieces and components to acquire via gameplay and challenges. 343 developers also stressed that none of the loot will come from lootboxes, be randomized or purchased for money. Players can simply unlock everything through gameplay progression. The first season of content is being called Heros of Reach, so you’ll be able to unlock the Noble 6 helmet and plenty of other cosmetics from Halo: Reach.
Another element of customization is Personal AI so you can basically get a custom announcer for multiplayer matches.
We've known for a while that Halo Infinite will have microtransactions and thanks to the extensive multiplayer walkthrough we know the game is getting battle passes instead of real-money loot boxes. Now battle passes have been popularize by other games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, but unlike everyone else 343 has promised their battle passes will never expire.
This way you can just work at your own pace to complete the battle pass instead of rushing before time runs out. What's more you'll be able to buy older battle passes in case you start play late or took a break from the game.
Halo Infinite will support multiplayer cross-play and cross-progression across PC on Microsoft Store and Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
343's Jeff Easterling and James Bachici stated long ago in June 2019 that Halo Infinite won't have a battle royale mode and noted that "the only BR we're really interested in is Battle Rifle." No one at the company has stated a change in opinion since then.
Forerunner
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When is the Halo Infinite Release Date?
Halo Infinite will release on December 8, 2021. The game was slated for a Holiday 2021 release date until the official release date was announced during an Opening Night Live Stream at Gamescom 2021. Halo Infinite will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one.
Halo Infinite was originally scheduled to launch during holiday 2020 but an announced delay in August 2020 pushed the release date back into an unlisted date in 2021.
The game is slated to launch on Xbox Series X, PC, and Xbox One with Smart Delivery support and it will be optimized for every platform.
How to Join the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta
The current Halo Infinite beta flight is running from Friday, Sept. 24, 2021 until Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. There's also another upcoming beta flight from Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 until Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. If you want to join the multiplayer beta, you;ll have to sign up for the Halo Insider Program following these steps:
- Visit the Halo Insider page
- Click Signup
- Sign in using your Microsoft/Xbox Live Account
- Agree to the Privacy and Confidentiality terms
- Fill out the settings form and survey
- Make sure to verify your email through the message in your inbox
- Be sure to also sign up the for the Xbox Insider Program if you play on Xbox
Is Halo Infinite Open World?
To date, we've seen exactly nine minutes of campaign gameplay that was shown during the 2020 Xbox Games Showcase Livestream. From that footage, it was clear Halo Infinite was designed with more open-world gameplay in mind, to give players more freedom.
Rather than linear levels, the Master Chief will be able to explore around an entire halo ring where players might come across a skull in the environment or happen upon a Covenant outpost.
Playing as the Master Chief will also feel different this time since he now has upgrades and a tech tree. Over time, players will unlock new equipment such as a drop shield and a grappling hook. Halo games in the past have had upgrades like rocket packs and armor locks, but instead of limited pickups, it appears these upgrades will stay throughout your playthrough.
Unfortunately, dual-wielding won't be coming back once again, but you can potentially knock enemies off of the halo ring.
Halo Infinite Multiplayer
Of course, Halo Infinite will have multiplayer and it's even free to play now. What's more, the game is changing quite a bit with a new weapons, equipment, vehicles, a story campaign tie-in, and so much more.
First up Arena 4v4 competitive modes are coming back to Halo Infinite. Additionally, big team battle mode is back so you can have large 24 player matches with vehicle-infused combat.
Equipment like overshields and active camouflage are also back along with a few new additions like a forward facing drop shield and grappling hook. What's different about equipment now is it's stored in your inventory until you use it. But just be aware that any equipment you're holding when killed will drop for the enemy to pick up.
Power weapons and vehicle drops will still be a Halo multiplayer staple. But instead of simply having these objects spawn in the game, Pelicans will deliver vehicles while pods will rain from the sky to drop weapons.
Multiplayer will also tie-in with the story campaign as all matches revolve around the new spartan recruits training under Commander Laurette Agryna. This sort of training academy will serve as a hub for the game's multiplayer campaign and integrates it into the main story.
Halo Infinite is trying to more appealing to begineers by adding a training mode, which allows them to play against bots and learn the maps in an offline enviornment. There's also a few "training wheels" options that let you enable handicaps like invincibilty and infinite ammo.
Additionally, players can use Halo Academy weapon drills to get familiar with the game's full assortment of weapons. After firing up this mode, you're dropped into a firing range that lets you practice using weapons through a series of drills with moving and non-moving targets. The trials start with stationary bots, then bots running in a straight line, and last bots moving around at random.
For even more information about Halo Infinite's multiplayer features be sure to check out our article on six more things you need to know.
Halo Infinite Graphics
Halo's graphics have been a hot debate for years. After strong community feedback over Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians, and Halo Wars 2, 343 Industries went back to more legacy aesthetics pulled from the original trilogy.
Unfortunately, even with the new/old art style, the community wasn't satisfied with the visual fidelity Halo Infinite presented. The gameplay demo was filled with object pop-in, plastic-like textures, and flat lighting. To that end, 343 Industries has promised to raise the overall level of fidelity and presentation of the final game.
Halo Infinite Story
Halo Infinite and its story were teased in a trailer at E3 2018, a cinematic trailer called Discover Hope at E3 2019 with a secret audio message from Cortana, and a teaser video with a message from The Banished.
In July 2020, IGN got a chance to sit down with 343 Industries developers Chris Lee and Paul Crocker to reveal more about the game’s story and villain. First off, Halo Infinite takes place well after the ending of Halo 5, and Master Chief is even more of a man out of time than he was at the start of Halo 4.
So far, trailers have shown a pilot finding the Master Chief floating in space, and apparently, this takes place when the UNSC and Earth have much less influence on the galaxy. Meanwhile, the latest developer commentary trailer from the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase during E3 2021, shows us Cortana is returning to the series in one form or another.
The back and forth between the Master Chief and this new AI reveals the rogue and rampant Cortana was captured and scheduled for deletion, but plans didn't go as anticipated. The trailer ends with the Master Chief inserting the new Cortana-look-alike into the back of his helmet, just like his old virtual companion.
But what is clear is Halo Infinite’s main enemies are The Banished – a rogue faction of Brutes from Halo Wars 2. The main villain is the banished’s leader War Chief Escharum who has taken control of the halo ring as his last stand against the Master Chief.
There could also be another mystery character that’ll play into the story that’s called “The Harbinger,” which may or may not be Cortana.
Is Halo Infinite Co-op?
343 Industries confirmed Halo infinite’s story campaign will support co-op for two players in local split-screen and four players while online.
Does Halo Infinite Have Customization?
Yes, in fact, Halo Infinite players will be able to customize their Spartans to an even greater degree than ever before. This time around players will be able to change the body shape of their characters if they want someone tall and lean or short and stocky, and anywhere in between. Players can even choose if they want any prosthetic limbs.
From there, players will have a ton of armor pieces to choose from including helmets, shoulders, chest pieces, and more.
Each multiplayer season will add new pieces and components to acquire via gameplay and challenges. 343 developers also stressed that none of the loot will come from lootboxes, be randomized or purchased for money. Players can simply unlock everything through gameplay progression. The first season of content is being called Heros of Reach, so you’ll be able to unlock the Noble 6 helmet and plenty of other cosmetics from Halo: Reach.
Another element of customization is Personal AI so you can basically get a custom announcer for multiplayer matches.
Will Halo Infinite Have Battle Passes?
We've known for a while that Halo Infinite will have microtransactions and thanks to the extensive multiplayer walkthrough we know the game is getting battle passes instead of real-money loot boxes. Now battle passes have been popularize by other games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, but unlike everyone else 343 has promised their battle passes will never expire.
This way you can just work at your own pace to complete the battle pass instead of rushing before time runs out. What's more you'll be able to buy older battle passes in case you start play late or took a break from the game.
Will Halo Infinite Be Cross-Play?
Halo Infinite will support multiplayer cross-play and cross-progression across PC on Microsoft Store and Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Will Halo Infinite Have a Battle Royale Mode?
343's Jeff Easterling and James Bachici stated long ago in June 2019 that Halo Infinite won't have a battle royale mode and noted that "the only BR we're really interested in is Battle Rifle." No one at the company has stated a change in opinion since then.
Halo Infinite – New Weapons
USNC
- CQS48 Bulldog – New UNSC riot shotgun that replaces the classic shotgun. This one is upgraded with a dum magazine and 12 gauge over the classic shotgun's 8 gauge.
- VK78 Commando – This fully automatic UNSC rifle fires at a slower rate than Halo's tried and true assault rifle and the scope has a slight stronger zoom too.
- MK50 Sidekick – The new sidearm pistol in Halo Infinite, we’re not sure if it’ll be replacing the magnum just yet.
- SRS99-S7 AM sniper rifle – The latest version of the Halo sniper rifle it combines the aesthetic of the sniper rifle from Halo 4 and 5 but with the scope from more classic Halo games.
- MLRS-2 Hydra – this micro-missile launcher is a sucessor to the original MLRS-1 Hydra seen in Halo 5: Guardians.
Banished
- Ravager – A Banished three-round burst energy weapon that runs on plasma fuel. The fuel level is, as always, represented by a percentage. There is a blade on the end of it that slightly increases melee damage.
- Mangler – A Banished pistol with giant kinetic projectiles that fires more slowly than the UNSC pistol but deals more damage.
- Pulse Carbine – A familiar but not quite identical version of the classic Covenant carbine weapon with tracking projectiles.
Forerunner
- Heatwave – This semi-automatic shotgun shoots out hardlight projectiles that bounce off surfaces and have an implosive effect on enemies. It also has two firing modes to shoot in either a horizontal or diamond-shapped pattern.
Halo Infinite New Vehicles
- Razorback – Looks like your traditional warthog, but it lacks a turret and gains two more seats bumping up total occupancy to six. There’s also a weapons rack at the back that can hold anything from a pistol to a gravity hammer and even detached turrets. Players can also store objectives like flags and skulls on the back of the Razorback.
- Chopper – The fan-favorite brute chopper from Halo 3 is back.
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