What you need to know
- The next content update for Halo Infinite is scheduled to arrive on April 30, 2024.
- Titled Banished Honor, this update features a 20-tier pass, two new Forge palettes (including one themed after the Flood), and more.
- As part of this update, the Plasma Pistol is gaining the ability to stun vehicles with overcharged shots like in some past Halo games.
- This update also adds the Exchange, where players can purchase returning cosmetics with a new earnable currency called Spartan Points.
The next big update is returning a fan-favorite feature to the Halo sandbox.
Developer 343 Industries shared an overview of the next Halo Infinite content update on Tuesday, revealing a new earnable currency, free pass, and some features that players can look forward to as part of the Banished Honor theme. Of all the announcements, one of the biggest is the return of a feature that's been a Halo staple since 2007. Starting with this update, the Plasma Pistol will again be capable of disabling vehicles through overcharged shots, adding a great deal of functionality to the oft-overlooked Banished sidearm.
Some other big additions include two new Forge item palettes, including one that's themed around the Flood, with plenty of betentacled, infested gunk for Forge users to build horror-themed maps with.
This update, which is set to arrive on April 30, is also introducing a new 20-tier pass. Like others of its kind, the pass is entirely free, with a paid option that comes with an exclusive coating and the ability to keep making progress in it once a new pass arrives. This pass will also come loaded with Spartan Points.
What are Spartan Points?
Spartan Points are a new earnable currency that players will get for going through matches and completing passes. Spartan Points can then be used in the Exchange on returning cosmetics that have rotated out or been unavailable for months and years since the game first launched back in November 2021.
Did the Plasma Pistol always disable vehicles in past games?
The Plasma Pistol (like many Halo weapons) has fluctuated throughout the years, with tweaks to its damage, shot count, rate of fire, and even the ability to disable vehicles. While it's a feature burned into the brains of many a Halo player, it wasn't present in Halo: Combat Evolved or Halo 2, instead being added in Halo 3, which also introduced equipment such as the Power Drain.
Analysis: Some good features, but questions remain
I've had a lot of fun hopping back into Halo Infinite this year, and I'm looking forward to earning this pass. I really like the idea of allowing players to earn a currency through playing and progressing that can then be spent on cosmetics they might've previously missed.
While Halo Infinite's battle pass model has been better than many other live-service games — seriously, having the ability to just grab a pass and not worry about it ever expiring removes so much FOMO and I wish more games would do it — there's still a large number of cosmetics that I and many other players have never earned due to the realities of time. So I'm all for Spartan Points!
Looking ahead however, it's not lost on me that there simply isn't a roadmap of what to expect from Halo Infinite right now. We get hints or mentions that the developers are looking into a feature a couple of updates ahead, but for the most part we're in the dark. Even if chunks of 343 Industries are now working on future Halo titles, I'd like to have a better idea to what's coming in 2024 (and beyond) for the game I'm playing right now. This game has come a long way, joining the ranks of the best Xbox games available, and I'd like to see that work continue.
Halo Infinite multiplayer is currently available as a free-to-play game on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows PC.
