Microsoft Launches Halo Infinite Free Multiplayer Beta on Xbox and PC
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.
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.
Launch Trailer