Halo: Infinite’s Multiplayer Will Be Free-To-Play, Plus More Good News

Following various leaks and rumors that Halo: Infinite would have free multiplayer and would run at up to 120 frames-per-second, Microsoft has made it official.

In a tweet today, the company confirmed these rumors though further details remain scant.

“Halo is for everyone,” the tweet reads, though that’s obviously not entirely true. “We can confirm #HaloInfinite multiplayer will be free-to-play and will support 120FPS on Xbox Series X. More details will be shared later!”

The larger implications of this, of course, remain to be fully seen. Is Microsoft aping Sony by nixing the Xbox Live requirement for all free-to-play online games? Or is this just because it’s Halo, one of Microsoft’s crown jewels? It would certainly be a smart move on Microsoft’s part to make Xbox Live less crucial to enjoying online games, allowing the company to focus on the more forward-thinking Xbox Game Pass service.

Whether or not that’s the case, making Infinite’s multiplayer free-to-play should be great for both the game’s creators, who will see an influx of players, and the game’s community which will have more players to fill servers and provide competition. If Infinite is going to have a “games-as-service” style release schedule, this could lead more players to the PvE portion of the game (and its premium price-tag) or to Game Pass (and a paid subscription) or just to purchasing loot boxes or battle passes or whatever Microsoft and 343 Industries have cooked up.

More details soon, promises Microsoft. So stay tuned. Halo: Infinite, despite its lackluster reception in Microsoft’s recent showcase, remains an Xbox Series X launch title. It will also be available on PC. Game Pass members get it as part of their subscription.

As someone much less concerned with graphics (though there’s a prettier version of that demo) and much more concerned with gameplay, the whole “Combat Evolved but also open-world” sounds pretty great. I hope I’m not wrong.

P.S. 120fps is absolutely terrific. All you really need for silky-smooth gameplay is 60fps but there’s nothing wrong with doubling that. Gameplay certainly feels better at 120, even if it’s not as visible a difference as 30 to 60. Hopefully next-gen is full of cool little quality-of-life improvements like this and no load times and maybe, just maybe (but probably not) smarter AI.