With this past week’s gameplay reveal forHalo Infinite, the Xbox team is much more comfortable discussing certain detail about whatHalo Infinitereally is. Part of what’s been confirmed is that 343 has no plans for futureHalosequels.Halo Infiniteis going to be supported for the foreseeable future. But a new rumor hints at even bigger plans forHalo Infinite. It’s possible that 343 could launchHalo Infinite’s multiplayer mode entirely for free.
The rumor comes from Windows Central, which while noting multiple sources for it very clearly characterizes the rumor as unconfirmed. The brief summary of the rumor is thatHalo Infinitewill feature free-to-play multiplayer similar to howCall of Duty Warzoneis freenext toCall of Duty: Modern Warfare.
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That’s the full extent of the rumor, which should hopefully create an air of skepticism around it. Microsoft didn’t address multiplayer whatsoever as part of theXbox Games Showcase, outside of denying a rumor that multiplayer would be delayed past launch. There’s very little to go on in terms of substantiating or squashing this rumor.
What can be considered is how much sense the decision to makeHalo Infinite’s multiplayer free makes. Obviously, ifHalo Infiniteis going to be a Games as a Service titlethat provides routine content updates for multiple years, free access to multiplayer a huge positive. It means the most amount of people will be able to play, to get invested in the cycle of content, and likely to invest in whatever monetization schemeHalo Infinite’s multiplayer will have.
It might also explain whyHalo Infinite’s single-player/co-op campaign is said to be so massive. 343 explained that theHalo Infinitecampaign will be thesize of bothHalo 4andHalo 5combined. It would need to be if it’s going to be a full-priced game while multiplayer is free. Those who buyHalo Infinitewill certainly expect some kind of reward in multiplayer, though.
In other words, a free-to-play multiplayer mode forHalo Infinitedoes fit with all of 343’s plans as they’ve been revealed so far. It would still devalue the full game, so 343 would have to proveHalo Infiniteis worth buying without multiplayer included. That may not matter so much if Xbox’s priority is Game Pass, however. There’s a lot left for Microsoft to discuss about its plans for late 2020. ThisHalo Infinitefree-to-play rumoris likely to only add to the mixed feelings.
Halo Infinitereleases holiday 2020 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
