Halo Infinite Creators Address Possibility of a Multiplayer Beta

The first big gameplay reveal for Halo Infinite focused entirely on the campaign which means players haven’t yet had a chance to see the game’s multiplayer component. We’ll definitely see some of that core part of the game eventually, but whether players will be able to go hands-on with the multiplayer experience before the game launches later this year is still up in the air. Addressing the topic of a possible multiplayer beta or flighting for Halo Infinite, 343 Industries said its work had been impacted by working from home amid coronavirus complications and said it’s not sure right now what will be possible in terms of flighting.

The goal is still to get the multiplayer in the hands of players at some point before release, 343 Industries said in its latest Halo Waypoint update. A Halo Infinite-focused post there addressed everything from graphics to multiplayer to key characters we haven’t seen yet in the first preview of the game.

On the subject of a possible Halo Infinite multiplayer beta or flighting, the latter being how 343 Industries handles pretty much all of its public Halo tests, the developer reminded people that the showcase during the Xbox Series X event was always supposed to be about the campaign. There’s a possibility we’ll see a multiplayer flight available to players, but it’s uncertain at this time.

“The Xbox Games Showcase was only meant to focus on Halo Infinite’s campaign. However, I can’t blame you all for being curious about the multiplayer experience,” said 343 Industries community manager John “Unyshek” Junyszek. “As Chris Lee mentioned in his blog which accompanied the demo last week, our original plans for large-scale flighting aren’t where we originally intended in large part due to the challenges of working from home during the COVID-19. At this time we’re honestly not sure what is going to be possible in terms of flighting but we still hope to have an opportunity for broader public hands-on before release. And, as we’ve previously stated, we’ll be relying on flighting and continued feedback and community partnership well beyond launch as we grow and evolve the game together.”

Elsewhere in the post, 343 Industries said it’ll focus on multiplayer, Forge, and other features you’d expect from a Halo game in the coming months.

A more recent rumor has once again suggested the multiplayer component of Halo Infinite will be free, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Halo Infinite is scheduled to release some time during Holiday 2020.