‘Halo Infinite’ multiplayer will be free to play, developer confirms

• Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries hasn’t shared any information about the multiplayer modes yet, but a huge leak reveals the multiplayer will be free-to-play.
• A since-deleted listing from an Irish toy store claims that Halo Infinite will have “a groundbreaking free-to-play multiplayer experience.”
• Halo Infinite will launch alongside the Xbox Series X this holiday season.

UPDATE: Moments before this post was scheduled to go up, 343 Industries confirmed that Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will indeed be free-to-play, just as the leak we describe below suggested:

Halo is for everyone. We can confirm #HaloInfinite multiplayer will be free-to-play and will support 120FPS on Xbox Series X. More details will be shared later! pic.twitter.com/9bIrppFiON

— Halo (@Halo) July 31, 2020

You can read on for the original story of the leak that prompted the tweet above.

Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase on July 23rd gave us our first glimpse of what some of the most anticipated next-gen games look like running on the Xbox Series X, including Halo Infinite. The “spiritual reboot” of the Halo franchise was announced over two years ago, but the showcase was the first time we’ve ever seen the game in action. Based on the demo, the Halo Infinite campaign will be much more open-ended than in previous entries.

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries wasn’t ready to talk about or show anything from the game’s multiplayer, but an Irish toy store may have spoiled a noteworthy detail about the online modes. According to a listing from Smyths Toys Superstores that has since been deleted, Halo Infinite’s multiplayer will be free to play.

“The legendary Halo series returns with the most expansive Master Chief campaign yet and a groundbreaking free-to-play multiplayer experience,” read the Smyths listing before it was deleted. “Enjoy up to 120 FPS and greatly reduced load times creating seamless gameplay with Xbox Series X.”

The leak was then backed up on Twitter by Krobrille, who has accurately shared details about Microsoft’s plans ahead of time in the past. He says free-to-play multiplayer is coming to Halo Infinite with 120 FPS gameplay on Xbox Series X, a Battle Pass system similar to Fortnite, and “customization options completely new to Halo.”

This would be a major shift for Halo, but a sensible one, as free-to-play multiplayer has taken over the gaming world in the years since Halo 5: Guardians launched on Xbox One. Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, Destiny 2 — these are some of the biggest games in the world right now, and they’re all free to play.

We’ll undoubtedly learn more about the game’s multiplayer in the weeks ahead, but 343 Industries did answers a bunch of questions about the game on Halo Waypoint this week, and also addressed complaints about the game’s graphics, which bubbled up immediately after the showcase and haven’t ceased since.

“The build used to run the campaign demo was work-in-progress from several weeks ago with a variety of graphical elements and game systems still being finished and polished,” said community manager John Junyszek. “While some of the feedback was expected and speaks to areas already in progress, other aspects of the feedback have brought new opportunities and considerations to light that the team is taking very seriously and working to assess. We don’t have firm answers or outcomes to share yet but the team is working as quickly as possible on plans to address some of the feedback around detail, clarity, and overall fidelity. The team is committed and focused on making sure we have a beautiful world for players to explore when we launch.”

Halo Infinite is scheduled to launch on Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC this holiday season.

Jacob started covering video games and technology in college as a hobby, but it quickly became clear to him that this was what he wanted to do for a living. He currently resides in New York writing for BGR. His previously published work can be found on TechHive, VentureBeat and Game Rant.