What you need to know
- The latest Inside Infinite blog post from 343 Industries focuses on the upcoming Halo Infinite technical preview flights.
- 343 explains that stressing the various systems and gathering feedback is the main priority.
- The first test could be as early as next weekend.
Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has been giving monthly updates on different aspects of the upcoming game all year via a series of blog posts called Inside Infinite. In the July 2021 installment of Inside Infinite, 343 Industries explains just what players can actually expect from the Halo Infinite flighting tests that are set to begin in the coming weeks.
To start, while it's important that you properly register for a chance to take part, doing all the proper steps isn't a guarantee you'll be invited, especially for the first few flights, with 343 taking a "walk before we run" approach. It's also being referred to as a Technical Preview specifically because technical performance is the key metric 343 wants to measure, with stressing and testing the various gameplay and online systems being the primary goal.
Player feedback is welcome, with 343 specifically requesting feedback on the core gameplay, maps, modes, Academy Weapon Drills and finally, the UI for the main menu and Battle Pass. 343 also explains that while not every piece of feedback may be addressed during the various flights before launch, the team will be transparent about what is being addressed, giving clear reports on the various "Feedback Themes" ahead of the game's Holiday 2021 release date.
There's still no specific date for when the first flight will happen but 343 notes it could be as early as next weekend. Whenever it arrives, this first flight is focused on bot gameplay, allowing players to fight in Bot Slayer Mode on three maps: Bazaar, Recharge, and Live Fire. There'll also be a variety of weapon drills for players to test.
343 closes by noting there are four levels of difficulties to Bots: Recruit, Marine, ODST and Spartan, with ODST more than capable of giving experienced Halo players a challenge. Bot difficulty is scaled solely on intelligence however, there are no boosts to weapon damage, health or any other stat.
A new Great Journey awaits
Halo Infinite is the biggest Xbox game of the year by far, and based on what we saw at E3 2021, it looks like it's going to be fantastic.
