While it had been heavily rumored beforehand, the early launch of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer was still a welcome surprise, and fans wasted no time jumping in. In less than a day, it become the most popular title Xbox games Studios has ever published on Steam, beating out Forza Horizon 5. However, there is one major point of contention fans have with the multiplayer, specifically its Battle Pass.
Unlike battle passes in most online multiplayer games, Halo Infinite’s Battle Passes never expire, so players don’t ever need to worry about not having the time to unlock all their content or missing out on content by starting late. However, players quickly noticed that the game is rather stingy with handing out XP for the Battle Pass. Players don’t gain any XP from just playing the game; it can only be earned by completing specific challenges (some of which are also bugged and don’t track progression properly).
Halo Infinite’s multiplayer has only been out for a couple of days at the time of this writing, so it’s very much in its infancy and susceptible to changes. In fact, developer 343 Industries seems to be fully aware of the complaints from fans. Brian Jarrad, the studio’s community director, said in a thank you tweet that the team is looking into Battle Pass progression and gathering data from recent sessions. He also asks that players continue to provide feedback and to report any bugs or glitches they may find.
Halo Infinite lead Joseph Staten retweeted Jarrad’s comments, reiterating how 343 is looking very closely at battle pass progression. While not an official confirmation, it very much sounds like 343 is thinking of making adjustments to how progress is made in the battle pass. Whether this means granting XP for simply playing matches or making the challenges less time consuming remains to be seen.
As for the full game, it’s on track to launch in early December and while it will be missing a couple of key features, Halo Infinite’s Campaign mode is enough to get some fans excited. More campaign gameplay and story details have been shared as of late, highlighting a number of new characters. Master Chief will be joined by a new AI companion to replace Cortana, and his fight against the Banished will lead to encounters with brand new opponents like a Spartan killer and a mysterious new antagonist who calls itself the Harbinger of the Truth.
Halo Infinite launches for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 8th.