In celebration of Halo and Xbox's 20th anniversary, 343 Industries has launched the free-to-play Halo Infinite Multiplayer Beta for all players on PC, Steam, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. In the multiplayer beta, players will have access to the all-new Academy, Arena, Big Team Battle, and the complete Season 1 battle pass. All progress, stats, and cosmetics will be brought over when the game officially launches.
"Our previous Multiplayer Technical Previews went a long way to battle-testing our services and infrastructure. But as we prepare for a significant increase in the number of players jumping into Halo Infinite on launch day, December 8th, we want to ensure all our systems are good-to-go," Joseph Staten, Head of Creative for Halo Infinite wrote in an official blog post in explanation to why is the release a beta.
While the team originally planned to add a new season every 3 months, Season 1 "Heroes of Reach" will be extended and run until 2 May 2022 to "ensure Season 2 meets our high-quality bar". With the extension, players can expect additional events, customisation items, and others added to the first season. During this week, players can log in to unlock exclusive 20th anniversary-themed cosmetics for free. Following this week, the Season 1 opening event "Fracture: Trial" will kick off on 23 November for players to earn Season 1's samurai-themed armour pieces and other customisation items.
Staten also revealed that more details about the first season's event calendar, the second season, campaign co-op, and Forge release plans will be announced in January 2022.
