Halo Infinite's first beta officially begins on July 29

Update 8:34 p.m. ET: Updated the post to add the beta test start date.

What you need to know

• 343 Industries has announced that the first Halo Infinite beta test will begin on July 29, 2021 and will run until August 1, 2021.
• A stream that details its contents will begin at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on July 28 on both the official Halo Twitch and YouTube channels.
• Right now, we know that the beta test will focus on the core gameplay, AI bots, weapon training drills, and the UI.

Emails sent out to Halo Insiders have revealed that the official start date for the first Halo Infinite beta test is July 29. The test will conclude on August 1, meaning that it will run for the full weekend. Before the test begins, 343 Industries has announced that it's going to give fans a closer look at the contents of the test in a July 28 livestream. The livestream is slated to begin at 2 PM PT/5 PM ET and will be hosted on the official Halo Twitch channel as well as the Halo YouTube channel.

Based on the latest official Halo Infinite blog post, we can expect the beta test to focus on Halo Infinite's core multiplayer gameplay experience against AI bots, the game's UI, and its Academy weapon drills that players can use to warm up or sharpen their skills. We're expecting plenty of additional details to be provided in the livestream, so make sure you tune in if you're interested in helping the developers test Halo Infinite yourself.

Are you excited about Halo Infinite's first official beta test? Let me know. To have a chance at participating in it yourself, you'll need to sign up for the Halo Insider Program. For details on how to do just that, make sure you catch our guide on How to play the Halo Infinite beta.

Halo Infinite is expected to launch on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 (and Windows 11) PCs for $60 in Fall 2021. The multiplayer will be free, however, so keep that in mind if you mostly stick to PvP.