Developers at 343 Industries have detailed some improvements coming to Halo Infinite with Season 3: Echoes Within, including the addition of ray tracing which will improve the visuals of the Xbox FPS. With the Winter update bringing Forge mode, and Season 3 including ray tracing, Halo Infinite continues to evolve as the live service expands on the smaller beginnings.
Ray tracing may change Halo Infinite for the better as it offers better lighting and more apparent shadows than the current graphical processing, with improved performance "on RX7000 series platforms with Ray Tracing acceleration." 343 Industries confirmed the ray tracing information during the recent AMD Presents broadcast which also featured Samsung, Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine, games like The Callisto Protocol, Forspoken, and more. Since the game's launch, players have been experiencing Halo Infinite Big Team Battles and Arenas without ray tracing, but it's about to change with the Season 3 update.
According to 343 Industries, the Arena game modes and Big Team Battle will both see the ray tracing improvements in Halo Infinite Season 3 which will bring other things like new multiplayer maps and more fan-requested features. Ray tracing will make objects and other players clearer which may make spotting enemies that are tucked in a convenient crevice a little easier. After seeing a delay that will give players more time to focus on the Winter update and Lone Wolves content, Halo Infinite Season 3: Echoes Within is set to begin on March 7, and it is expected to run until June 27.
343 Industries continues to patch Halo Infinite with content, fixes, and more through the live service model, with the most recent update including more playlist options and improvements to Spartan cosmetics. Ahead of the release of Season 3, Halo Infinite will see a Winter update that includes the anticipated Forge mode and a new 30-tier Battle Pass for players to progress through as they anticipate the next season. Because many of the things coming to Halo Infinite in the Winter update and Season 3 are being added based on fan feedback, more future content may revolve around the community needs as well.
While many Halo Infinite fans have expressed their enthusiasm for the arrival of ray tracing next year, others have lamented the lack of this and other features at launch. Though some eagle-eyed Halo Infinite players can notice the detail upgrades with ray tracing on, others responding to the AMD broadcast statement and screenshots have suggested that they see no changes.
Halo Infinite is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.