Halo Infinite: Release date, story, multiplayer, crossplay, platforms, trailers, beta

Andrew Highton

Master Chief’s longevity is in full force as Halo Infinite marks another generation that the legendary shooter franchise will appear in. There’s a lot of buzz about the game, so we’ve put together some crucial details including Halo Infinite’s release date, crossplay, gameplay, and more.

Halo, the iconic Sci-Fi drama that has achieved mainstream coverage, is gearing up for another iteration of tight gunplay with lots of aliens to slay.

Scheduled for a December 2020 release, Halo Infinite’s arrival had to be pushed back due to its development being disturbed by the worldwide pandemic. This slight hiccup has nearly passed, however, and we have some key details that you should know about the 2021 arrival of Halo Infinite.

Halo Infinite Release Date

halo characters with different skins

A Microsoft Store listing and a Tawainese online shopping website appeared to have leaked that Halo Infinite will release on December 8.

Now, The Verge have reportedly confirmed that this is indeed the official release date. They said that “A source familiar with Microsoft’s plans tells The Verge that December 8th is accurate.”

This release date is reportedly going to be officially announced during the opening of Gamescom.

343 Creative Director Joseph Staten confirmed during the Gamescom 2021 show that the Halo Infinite release date will indeed be December 8, 2021.

Halo Infinite story

master chief and his pilot friend in halo infinite

Gripping narratives are synonymous with Halo games. After keeping the appearances of Master Chief slightly more limited in Halo 5: Guardians, 343 Industries have taken this feedback on board and reverted to a more familiar status quo.

These are the key details regarding Halo Infinite’s story:

  • It will focus more on Master Chief who’s just woken from a deep sleep
  • It has been described as a “spiritual reboot” for the franchise
  • 343 are making the story less complicated than Halo 5: Guardians
  • The Banished will serve as the game’s primary antagonists

It’s clear that 343 Industries wants to keep Infinite’s story a bit more grounded and not require you to have played every Halo game to completely understand all of the details.

Halo Infinite will have crossplay

master chief staring off in halo infinite

A big question that people have had regarding Halo Infinite and its Xbox and PC integration is, will it have crossplay?

Thanks to a Tweet from Halo’s Community Manager at 343 Industries John Junyszek, we know that crossplay has been confirmed for Halo Infinite.

So if it’s the campaign or the multiplayer, or even the rumored battle royale mode, Xbox and PC players will be able to unite and enjoy Halo Infinite together.

Halo Infinite battle royale

Absolutely nothing has been confirmed yet regarding a battle royale mode for Halo Infinite. However, there have been back and forth rumors regarding this, and a new piece of evidence has shed some light on this popular question.

An audio clip was leaked that was spoken by the classic Halo announcer Jeff Steitzer who has returned for Halo Infinite.

In the clip, he can be heard saying the very simple line: “Battle Royale.” It remains to be seen if Halo Infinite will ever receive an official battle royale mode.

Halo Infinite Multiplayer available now free-to-play

Halo soldiers in combat

The Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase during E3 2021 confirmed that the Multiplayer portion of the next entry in the first-person shooter will be completely free-to-play for PC and Xbox players and will run at 120 FPS.

And during the Xbox 20th Anniversary live show on November 15, 343 Industries announced the arrival of Halo Infinite’s Multiplayer. The release came as a surprise as players could access the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Season 1 beta on all Xbox consoles and PC.

Halo Infinite how to play flight test beta

We’ve already had the first flight test for Halo Infinite which started on July 29, 2021. This is an exclusive beta test to allow players to try out Halo Infinite and help to iron out any flaws and bugs in the system.

To participate in any future flight tests, all you need to do is head over to the Halo Insider Program hub and click “Sign Up.” You will then be asked to sign in to your Xbox Live account. You also must be 18 years or older to participate in the tests.

Halo Infinite Multiplayer gameplay reveal trailer

Fans got their first look at the adrenaline-fueled action they can expect from the Multiplayer of Halo Infinite in the game’s reveal trailer that was released during E3 2021.

You can check out all of the action-packed footage below:

Halo Infinite’s gameplay features

If there’s one area where Halo never fails to impress – it’s gameplay. For years, Halo was built and marketed on being the undisputed number-one first-person shooter in the world. Even though Bungie has branched off to work on Destiny, Halo still retains the exquisite mechanics that garnered positivity and drew in fans for years.

Here are some crucial gameplay tidbits for you to know about:

  • Master Chief has befriended a pilot that found him and can drive him around
  • The game features bigger and more expansive levels than before
  • There’s a day & night cycle
  • Master Chief has a new Grapple Hook that can be used for traversal or combat
  • Halo Infinite incorporates a new upgrade system
  • There are new weapons & enemies
  • Multiplayer will be free-to-play at up to 120fps, probably with a Battle Pass system
  • The campaign has a 4-player online co-op
  • Local 2-player split-screen returns after being left out of Halo 5: Guardians

It does seem, for the time being at least, that Halo Infinite will not have assassinations on its release. It’s a feature that players have enjoyed previously in Halo games, but Lead Developer Tom French has said this won’t be a priority.


This is all the information we know about Halo Infinite so far and as more details slowly become public, we’ll make sure we update you.

Image Credit: 343 Industries