343 Industries has confirmed that Halo Infinite will not feature any loot boxes or other randomized item drops, which was something that many players had an issue with in Halo 5. Rather than rewarding players with new gear to equip to their Spartans in the realm of multiplayer in a somewhat random fashion, Infinite will instead focus entirely on giving out new items via gameplay. Most notably, this will come about with the inclusion of a Battle Pass this time around.
Detailed in a new video that was released today by 343, members of the team on Halo Infinite provided more context related to how customization will work. Specifically, the studio says it’s looking to approach armor customization from a “player first” perspective. “What that means is that there’s no random loot in this. There’s no loot boxes,” said Ryan Paradis, the Live Design Director of Halo Infinite. “It’s very important to us that everyone understands exactly how they unlock customization content.”
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Tune in as the team at 343 Industries shares more about the #HaloInfinite free-to-play multiplayer experience. Learn about the sandbox, Academy, bots, customization, and what they’re focusing on for launch.
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The most notable new way in which players will be able to get new gear in Halo Infinite comes by way of a Battle Pass. This is something that has become commonplace in many multiplayer shooters nowadays, but the way in which 343 is approaching the system for Infinite is a bit different. Specifically, Battle Passes themselves will never expire, meaning that there isn’t a set window in which you can put your progression towards a certain pass. While new passes will arrive with the start of each new season, previous passes will still be able to be purchased retroactively. And in turn, you can then select an old pass as the active one you want to progress.
As a whole, this system sounds far better compared to that of Halo 5. While the multiplayer aspect of the previous Halo title was largely well-received, the randomized nature of loot in the mode led to many fans being turned off in the long run. Fortunately, it sounds like 343 took many of those complaints to heart and is now doing something much different (and likely better) for Infinite.
At this point, Halo Infinite still doesn’t have a release date but it has been reaffirmed to release this holiday season across Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC platforms.
What do you think about these new changes to loot in Halo Infinite? Let me know either down in the comments or hit me up on Twitter at @MooreMan12.