Halo Infinite First Multiplayer Beta Begins Thursday, July 29
The first Multiplayer Technical Preview of Halo Infinite begins on Thursday, July 29. The beta test runs until Sunday, August 1, and will allow users to test parts of the multiplayer. Players can sign up as a Halo Insider for a chance to enter the beta.
Developer 343 Industries is announcing the release of the first Halo Infinite multiplayer beta on its website. It will be the first of several Technical Preview tests in the lead up to the release of Halo Infinite around the holiday season. In this first beta test, users can test the multiplayer bots, among other things.
Halo Infinite will be the first title in the franchise to offer computer-controlled enemies in multiplayer mode. In the first beta, players will be able to participate in the Bot Arena game mode, which pits four players against four bots. The first preview will have three different playing fields for this game mode: Bazaar, Recharge and Live Fire.
The game will feature four different types of bots, namely recruit, navy, ODST, and spartan, with recruits being the least strong and spartans having the highest difficulty. In the Bot Arena mode, the bots start out as recruits and players can gradually work their way up to spartans.
The Live Fire map from Halo Infinite. Image via 343 Industries
In addition, 343 Industries is testing the Weapon Drills, which allow users to try out weapons before entering a multiplayer arena. The first Technical Preview also includes the game’s interface. “In addition to the gameplay-focused experiences above, we also want to make sure that the game’s menu navigation feels intuitive,” the studio wrote. Among other things, the company wants to find out how users navigate the UI to unlock their Battle Pass, view Challenges, use the in-game store and apply their unlocked cosmetic ‘customization elements’. The test also includes the new Waypoint app for iOS, Android and web browsers.
For a chance to access the Technical Preview, users can enroll in the Halo Insider program through the 343 Industries website. Users can, among other things, indicate whether they want to test the game on an Xbox or PC. The second option requires users to share their system specifications via a DxDiag file. 343 Industries reports that it does not collect “system identifying information” from those files.
Not all Halo Insiders get access to the various beta versions, so registration does not guarantee participation. Invitations are automatically sent to select Halo Insiders Program members per Technical Preview. The studio says it will prioritize distributing beta access as widely as possible among users on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and “various PC configurations.”
Halo Infinite will be released around the holidays for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows. The game’s multiplayer will be free-to-play, while the single-player campaign will be paid. The game runs on the Xbox Series X at a maximum of 120fps. The game was initially set to release in late 2020, but 343 Industries decided to postpone the game to 2021 last year.
Spartans in the Live Fire map. Image via 343 Industries