Halo Infinite fans have, for the bulk of the last 11 months since the game launched, been looking for a spark, anything internally at developer 343 Industries that would indicate that their beloved Halo Infinite is starting to get some traction. After coming out of the blocks strongly, players quickly identified that the post-launch support of Halo Infinite from its developer was not forthcoming at any great rate. From slow season turnarounds to the incredibly delayed Forge mode, the cancelation of split-screen cooperative play, and all the while the rumours of a Battle Royale mode persist. As Winter rapidly closes in, 343 Industries have come out swinging, highlighting the many inclusions and improvements coming to the latest entry in Xbox’s most iconic franchise.
Alex Wakeford of 343 Industries on the Halo Waypoint blog did a great job of summarising the upcoming changes, saying,
The Winter Update for Halo Infinite has arrived!
This is the largest feature update to Halo Infinite yet, bringing with it a number of highly anticipated experiences such as Campaign Network Co-Op, Mission Replay, the Forge Beta, and a plethora of new, free content for all players.
We want to acknowledge and thank our players who have stuck by us and provided feedback to improve the overall Halo Infinite experience—the Winter Update marks a big step forward for all of us.
Wakeford’s thanks for the players is of course great, but, the proof is, as they say, in the pudding, so let’s examine what is in the new Winter Update.
Campaign Co-op and Mission Replay are among the biggest inclusions on the single-player side of the Halo Infinite experience, with the functionality connecting both Xbox and PC players together, new Achievements will be added as well. Another key pillar is Forge, and 343 were proud to reveal that the Forge Beta is here, launching “with six canvas maps, a new visual scripting engine, object scaling, lighting and audio tools, bot support, huge budget increases, file sharing capabilities, and much more to help you create and share your maps, modes, and prefabs.” A new Battle Pass and events are on the way, while some new balancing changes have been made to the way XP is delivered. You can’t have a big Halo update without some new maps, and 343 confirmed that this would be the case with this Winter Update, as they add Argyle, and Detachment, both products of Forge, into the rotation, meanwhile a variant of CTF is inbound called Convert One Flag, and other balancing tweaks are being applied to the broader experience.
Halo Infinite fans are finally starting to see their beloved game get some momentum once again.
