Welcome to the Halo Infinite MP Beta
On behalf of the entire Halo Infinite team, and in celebration of Halo’s 20th anniversary, I am very happy to announce that your Spartan journey begins… today! Sincerest thanks to the entire Halo community for your support, passion, and feedback. This day belongs to all of you. Whether you’ve been part of the community from the beginning or are joining with us today, welcome! Please read on or jump directly to the Halo Infinite multiplayer beta download links HERE.
Why is this release a beta? Our previous Multiplayer Technical Previews went a long way to battle-testing our services and infrastructure. But as we prepare for a significant increase in the number of players jumping into Halo Infinite on launch day, December 8th, we want to ensure all our systems are good-to-go. While you may experience some bumps and bugs during this beta period, it does mark the official start of Halo Infinite Season 1, with all day-one maps and modes enabled as well as the full Season 1 Battle Pass. This means all the Battle Pass and customization items you earn or purchase during the beta will stay with you after December 8th.
When you start playing the beta, you will notice in the Battle Pass UI that Season 1 will last from now until May 2022, which is a change from our original goal of shipping a new Season every three months. We made the decision to extend Season 1 to give ourselves more time to ensure Season 2 meets our high quality bar and so we can finish development for Season 2 in a healthy and sustainable way for our team.
Importantly, with the Season 1 extension, we aren’t just stretching-out our original Season 1 plan. Indeed, we took this opportunity to add additional events, customization items and other content to Season 1 to make it an even richer experience from start to finish. For example, starting today and through the first week, you can log-in to Halo Infinite to unlock a free collection of 20th anniversary themed cosmetics. Following this free reward period, the start of our Season 1 opening event, “Fracture: Tenrai”, will kick off on November 23. This will be your first of multiple opportunities to earn Season 1’s samurai-themed armor pieces and other customization items.
In January, after all of you have had a chance to play Halo Infinite’s expansive and adventure-filled campaign starting December 8th, and all of us on the Halo Infinite team have had an opportunity to recharge our energy shields over the holidays, we will have more details to share about the Season 1 event calendar as well as our Season 2, campaign co-op, and Forge release plans.
Again, sincere thanks to all of you in the Halo community for joining with us to celebrate this 20th anniversary milestone. We are incredibly excited to have reached this first step on our Halo Infinite adventure, and we can’t wait to share more about where your Spartan journey goes from here.
- Joseph Staten, Head of Creative, Halo Infinite
Begin Your Spartan Journey
Halo Infinite’s free to play multiplayer beta is available on Xbox and PC beginning today! Jump in to experience the next era of Halo multiplayer including the all-new Academy, Arena, Big Team Battle, and the complete Season 1 Battle Pass. Your progress, cosmetics, unlocks, and multiplayer stats will all carry-over when Halo Infinite officially launches on December 8.
Academy
New recruits and returning veterans alike will start their journey via the Academy under the watchful eye of Spartan Commander Agryna. After you select your own personal AI and complete a basic tutorial, suit up and take advantage of the Academy to prepare for battle before venturing into matchmaking.
Get acquainted with your Spartan’s arsenal via Weapon Drills and square off against Bot targets to hone your skills. Do you have what it takes to achieve a 3-star rating and outscore your friends? Share your results on Twitter and show us what you’ve got!
Training Mode is a great way to get familiar with each of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer maps while putting your weapon and equipment skills to the test in a highly customizable experience with Bots.
Season 1: Heroes of Reach
Halo Infinite’s first season, “Heroes of Reach”, begins today and runs through May 2, 2022. Infinite’s Battle Pass offers free and premium tracks accounting for more than 100 unlockable items. If you purchase a Halo Infinite Premium Battle Pass, it will not expire – so if you jump in later in the season or can’t complete it by May, no worries - you’ll be able to progress on your own terms. Start playing today and begin building your own personal Spartan by unlocking additional armor pieces, weapon charms, visors, coatings, emblems, Armor FX, and more!
And, keeping true to this season’s theme, you’ll be able to unlock armor kits for each of the original heroes from Halo: Reach. Which Noble Team member will you rep online?
Face the Challenge
Complete daily and weekly challenges to earn XP and unlock free and premium content throughout the Battle Pass. Challenge Swaps can be used to replace a challenge and you can apply XP Boosts to temporarily earn double experience points for each challenge you complete.
Once you complete all of your weekly challenges, a special Ultimate Reward challenge will unlock and completing this will earn you a free cosmetic reward each and every week. Weekly challenges will reset every Tuesday so don’t miss out on these special, free rewards! To read more about challenges and overall Spartan progression, check out the September 2021 edition of our Inside Infinite blog series.
Halo Waypoint
Keep track of your challenge progress, manage your Spartan customization, monitor your multiplayer stats and more here on the new Halo Waypoint website and via the mobile app (available on iOS and Android). Learn more about the new Waypoint experience HERE.
Matchmaking Overview
Once you’re ready to heed the call of battle, gear up and jump into matchmaking to test your mettle against players around the world in the 4v4 Arena (Bot, Social, and Ranked) or 12v12 Big Team Battle offerings. If matchmaking isn't your cup of tea, grab some friends and jump into custom games (online or via local splitscreen) with maps and settings of your choice.
All for One
Halo Infinite is the first title in the series to launch simultaneously on Xbox and PC and features support for cross-generation, cross-platform, and cross-input play. No matter which platform you’re on – or whether you use a controller or mouse and keyboard – there are no barriers to playing together. And, with cross-progression support, you can move between console or PC and seamlessly retain your progression, stats, and more.
Playlists
As part of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer beta launch today, we’re excited to debut our matchmaking playlist lineup. In this section you can read up on the playlists, their settings, and the map and mode pairings you’ll find within each one.
Our approach to Halo Infinite’s launch playlists was fairly simple – start with a focused offering to ensure healthy matchmaking and be prepared to adjust as needed. It is truly a live game, so we will be monitoring all playlists, including event playlists, to see which ones are performing well and which ones aren’t. Using that data, combined with player feedback, we will be able to identify opportunities to add or remove playlists (or even certain map and mode pairings within a playlist), to ensure a quality experience when playing Halo Infinite matchmaking. Launch is just the beginning - Halo Infinite's online multiplayer experience will grow and evolve over time!
Without further ado, here are the launch playlists for multiplayer:
Big Team Battle
Featuring 12v12 combat on large maps with a wide array of vehicles, Halo Infinite brings the beloved Big Team Battle experience to new heights.
Capture the Flag on Fragmentation, Highpower, Deadlock
Slayer on Fragmentation, Highpower, Deadlock
Total Control on Fragmentation, Highpower, Deadlock
Stockpile on Fragmentation, Highpower, Deadlock
Quick Play
Enter the Arena with an MA40 AR & Mk50 Sidekick and play 4v4 matches for fun.
- Capture The Flag on Aquarius, Bazaar, Behemoth
- One Flag CTF on Launch Site
- Oddball on Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
- Slayer on Aquarius, Bazaar, Behemoth, Launch Site, Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
- Strongholds on Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
Bot Bootcamp
Hone your skills and practice new strategies in 4v4 matches that pit players against Bots.
- Capture The Flag on Aquarius, Bazaar, Behemoth
- Oddball on Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
- Slayer on Aquarius, Bazaar, Behemoth, Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
- Strongholds on Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
Event Playlists
Throughout Halo Infinite’s seasons, there will be events that feature special playlists, challenges, and free rewards. In general, an event will be available from one to multiple weeks, offering plenty of time to enjoy the playlist, go after challenges, and unlock its rewards.
Fracture: Tenrai, which will be Halo Infinite’s first event, kicks off next week on November 23. To learn more about it, be sure to read its section further below.
Ranked Arena (Controller | Solo/Duo) (KBM | Solo/Duo) (Cross-input | Up to full parties)
Start with a BR75 (Battle Rifle), Combat Sensor disabled, friendly fire on, grenade hitmarkers disabled, and static item spawns in these competitive 4v4 settings.
- Capture The Flag on Aquarius, Bazaar, Behemoth
- Oddball on Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
- Slayer on Aquarius, Bazaar, Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
- Strongholds on Live Fire, Recharge, Streets
Within Ranked Arena, players may select between Controller Solo/Duo Queue, KBM Solo/Duo Queue, and cross-input with any party size. We believe that the Solo/Duo queue options will provide a home for competitive players who want to face off against opponents with nearly the exact same team composition as them. On the other hand, the cross-input option with no party size limit provides an opportunity for players to see how they stack up against people with different input types or full squads of similar skill.
We'll share a deeper dive into the inner-workings of Halo Infinite's ranking system soon. In the meantime, jump in, get your placement matches in, and start climbing that ladder!
For more competitive Halo goodness, read about the upcoming Halo Infinite esports program, Raleigh Major 2021, and be sure to follow @HCS on Twitter.
Celebrating 20 Years of Halo
On this day 20 years ago, Halo: Combat Evolved launched alongside the original Xbox and forever changed the gaming landscape. To celebrate this historic occasion, and as a special token of gratitude to Halo fans around the world, we’re excited to offer free commemorative rewards to everyone who plays this week. Simply log in any time by November 22 and you’ll automatically receive the following exclusive items in your in your cosmetic inventory:.
- Platinum Anniversary Coatings (Armor, AR, and Warthog)
- I Love Bees Emblems
- "Assembled" Emblems
- Blue Team Weapon Charm
- Heart Emblem Set
Fracture: Tenrai
In addition to the regular matchmaking playlist options noted above, Halo Infinite will feature special events at various times throughout the season. Events will often include a featured, special playlist and an event-specific Pass with unique rewards.
The first event, Fracture: Tenrai, is scheduled to begin on November 23 and will run for one week. This FREE event will include the Yoroi (Samurai) armor core and an Event Pass that can be progressed while the event is active. The Fracture: Tenrai event will return multiple times throughout the season, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to earn and adorn your armor. Additionally, special Yoroi-specific premium customization offerings will be featured in the store during the event.
We’ll share more details about future Fracture: Tenrai dates and additional Season 1 events once the dust has settled from launch on December 8.
Halo Support
With help from Halo Insiders, the team was able to learn a lot and make great strides to overall launch readiness but given the huge increase in scope with today’s beta launch, there could be some bumps on the road to launch on December 8. Please visit the Halo Support site (aka.ms/HaloSupport) to get more insights and valuable resources. You can find Known Issues, installation instructions, new player guides, and everything else Halo Infinite MP beta related by visiting aka.ms/HaloInfiniteUpdate. And, be sure to follow @HaloSupport on Twitter for important updates.
If you encounter a bug or issue that isn’t called out on the Known Issues list, please file a support ticket which is hugely helpful for the team to track and investigate.
PC Recommended Specs
For the optimal PC experience please ensure your machine at least meets the minimum requirements noted below. For more insights into the work 343 Industries has done to deliver a native, best-in-class PC experience, check out our PC Overview.
Adventure Awaits
Master Chief faces the Banished and seeks to unravel the mysteries of Zeta Halo when the most expansive Halo campaign to date arrives on December 8 for Xbox, Windows PCs, and Steam. Multiplayer fans should take note that over the course of the campaign, you will unlock additional customization items for your personal Spartan.
Check out the Halo Infinite Campaign Overview to learn more and head HERE to pre-order!
Thank You!
On behalf of the entire team at 343 Industries and all of our partners around the globe – thank you for your continued support! Your passion for Halo is a constant source of inspiration and we’re eager to start the next leg of our Halo Infinite journey together and continue evolving season after season in partnership with our players.
We’ll see you online, Spartans!
Additional Reading & Resources
Join the Halo Insider Program for a chance to participate in pre-release previews/flights, share insights via surveys, and stay informed about Halo happenings. Help shape the future of Halo!
Check out the the Campaign, competitive gameplay, live-action marketing videos, and more on YouTube:
Go behind the scenes and hear from members of the team about their work on Halo Infinite in our "Inside Infinite" blog series:
Read about key feedback themes and the team's responses from the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Technical Previews: Outcomes 1 | Outcomes 2
Join the conversation and stay up to date by following Halo on social and web:
