What you need to know
- 343 Industries has confirmed that Halo Infinite's August "Drop Pod" update is releasing on Aug. 9 on Xbox and PC.
- The update is bringing several customization improvements, including the release of cross-core visor customization and a wider range of helmet and helmet attachment combinations.
- Additionally, the patch will also add Ranked and Team Doubles to the game, as well as the groundwork for Region Select matchmaking that will be activated in a future update. Players will be able to see what challenges they have while in the pause menu, too.
In a new preview blog on Halo Waypoint, 343 Industries has announced that Halo Infinite's August "Drop Pod" update is slated to go live next week on Aug. 9. The update includes several improvements to Halo Infinite's customization system, as well as some new matchmaking options and a quality-of-life addition to the pause menu UI.
The highlight of the update is that once it launches, cross-core visor customization will be unlocked for all players. This means that fans will be able to use any visor color that they've unlocked across all five of Halo Infinite's armor cores, giving them significantly more options for visor customization on each core than what was available beforehand. This is a great first step towards cross-core customization at large, and hopefully the developers have plans to make other cosmetics, such as helmets, armor pieces, and armor attachments, usable cross-core in future updates.
The August Drop Pod is also making it possible for players to equip their Mark VII helmet attachments on a variety of Mark VII helmets that weren't compatible with them previously. While not every attachment will be usable with every helmet since "certain combinations could have clipping or large gaps," players will overall have significantly more options to choose from.
Additionally, the update is also bringing the 2v2 Ranked Doubles and Team Doubles playlists to Halo Infinite matchmaking. Both playlists will become available in-game on Aug. 23, two weeks after the Drop Pod's launch. On the same day, a rank and CSR reset will be deployed. The groundwork for Region Select — a feature that will enable players to choose between searching for matches in their local region instead of all regions for an optimal connection — is also being laid with the patch, though the option itself won't be activated until a future update.
Lastly, players will also be able to view their current challenges on the pause menu once the update releases, which is a nice quality-of-life change that will make it easier to keep track of the objectives you need to complete while playing. 343 Industries confirmed it has plans to make the challenges show real-time progress while in-game, but since they currently only update after matches are completed, the UI will only show you what your challenge objectives are for now.
Halo Infinite is available now on Xbox and PC. It's one of the best Xbox shooters on the market right now for fans of arena-style FPS combat, and since the multiplayer is free-to-play, there's zero barrier to entry. The campaign is fantastic, too, as it features exhilarating gameplay and an excellent story.
