Halo Infinite’s first multiplayer beta begins on Thursday, July 29
Halo Infinite’s first Multiplayer Technical Preview begins on Thursday, July 29. The beta test will run until Sunday, August 1 and allow users to test parts of the multiplayer. Players can sign up as a Halo Insider for a chance to access the beta.
Developer 343 Industries has announced the release of the first Halo Infinite multiplayer beta on his website. It will be the first of several Technical Preview test builds leading up to Halo Infinite’s holiday release. 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. Players will be able to take part in the Bot Arena game mode in the first beta, which pits four players against four bots. The first preview gets three different playing fields for this game mode: Bazaar, Recharge and Live Fire.
The game will have four different types of bots, namely recruit, marine, ODST and spartan, with recruits being the weakest and spartans having the highest difficulty. In Bot Arena mode, the bots start out as recruits and players can work their way up to spartans along the way.
The Live Fire map from Halo Infinite. Image via 343 Industries
343 Industries is also testing Weapon Drills, which will allow users to try out weapons before entering a multiplayer arena. The first Technical Preview also includes the game’s interface. “On top of the gameplay-focused experiences above, we also want to make sure the game’s menu navigation feels intuitive,” the studio writes. Among other things, the company wants to figure 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 indicate there, among other things, whether they want to test the game on an Xbox or PC. The second option requires users to share their system specs via a DxDiag file. 343 Industries reports that it does not collect “identifying system information” from those files.
Not all Halo Insiders get access to the various beta versions, so registration does not guarantee participation. Invitations will be automatically sent to select Halo Insiders Program members per Technical Preview. The studio says it prioritizes distributing beta access as broadly as possible to users on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and “various PC configurations.”
Halo Infinite will be released around the holiday season 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 supposed to be released at the end of 2020, but 343 Industries decided to postpone the game to 2021 last year.
Spartans in the Live Fire map. Image via 343 Industries