What you need to know
- The August 2021 edition of Inside Infinite focuses on the team's findings from the first Halo Infinite technical preview.
- The team at 343 Industries is enthusiastic about the positive response, while sharing how certain issues will be fixed for launch.
- Head of Creative Joseph Staten also offers more information on why campaign footage wasn't shown at Gamescom 2021.
- Halo Infinite is currently slated to launch on Dec. 8, 2021.
Halo Infinite has a release date and the team at 343 Industries is sharing its findings from the first technical preview in the August 2021 edition of Inside Infinite. To start, while 343 Industries is enthused at the positive response to the technical preview, there were issues that cropped up. Challenges did not refresh, or were not balanced properly for all-Bot matches. These issues have been fixed.
Other noted problems include players not being able to join matches, Spartans just collapsing at the start of a match and the seeming never-ending calls of "Over yonder!" during gameplay, issues that the team is now working to iron out while also planning for the next technical preview, which will include Big Team Battle. If you haven't signed up to possibly be selected through the Halo Insider program, now is a great time to do so.
Finally, 343 Industries Head of Creative Joseph Staten shared more on why campaign footage was not shown accompanying the announcement of the release date and special edition console and controller during Gamescom 2021. Staten notes that he and the others "definitely hear" the complaints over a lack of campaign gameplay and says that it's not being shown at this moment due to the studio's focus on making sure it's as polished as possible.
Staten further compares this phase of development to landing an aircraft, saying that more gameplay footage and trailers will be shown when it won't interfere with getting through this phase. Staten also shares anecdotes from his own excitement playing through the campaign, being ambushed by cloaked Elites hiding in seemingly abandoned bases or aiding a Marine outpost with a Sniper Rifle.
Halo Infinite is scheduled to launch on Dec. 8 later this year for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC. Like all Xbox first-party titles, it'll launch into Xbox Game Pass.
A new Great Journey awaits
Halo Infinite is the biggest Xbox game of the year by far, featuring a wide array of maps for players to stomp around with in multiplayer, from classic Arena to Big Team Battle.
