After a period of silence regarding the newest Halo game, some new details have come to everyone’s attention.
Earlier this year for E3 Microsoft kicked off their conference with an exciting tech demo for the upcoming Halo game titled “Infinite”. However no details were revealed what sort of game it would be and when it would release. However some recent job listings at 343 industries share some information that we have been craving since June. The first listing for “Online Experience Design Director” tells us that 343 are intending Infinite to be a long lasting online experience. In the same way that GTA Online has been cared for over 4 years.
The candidate will handle “social and engagement features that encourage players to return again and again with their friends,” as well as, microtransactions. Microtransactions are not something new to the Halo franchise as 2015’s Halo 5 Guardians included REQ packs. Which would grant the player a random selection of cosmetic items for their player and usable items for certain modes. However the inclusion of this “feature” was not well received by most long term fans of the franchise. Despite this, Gamespot reported that REQ packs still brought in over $1.5 Million in revenue.
The job ad also describes Halo Infinite as being a “live service” game. Further alluding to the fact that the intention for Infinite is to be long lasting and desired to be refilled with content on a regular basis.
Another job ad reveals that 343 are looking for a “Senior Software Development Engineer” who will look over the PC client anti-cheat and security features for Halo Infinite. Essentially confirming that 343 are looking to get this game onto PC with the proper anti-cheats in place. This is a good sign as PC as a platform can be quite scary for developers when it comes to their online spaces being taken over by cheaters and hackers. I know this just by playing Modern Warfare on PC over Xbox 360.
There is still no word regarding the release date for Infinite, but there has been rumors for a campaign release in 2019 with some sort of multiplayer component in 2020. We do know that there will be some early Beta tests and when it is finally released, Halo Infinite will be free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. That’s all we have for now, however we can probably expect some more details regarding the game next year at E3 2019.