At Microsoft's E3 2021 showcase for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, the company gave an updated look at the much anticipated Halo Infinite. Unlike past Halo titles, multiplayer will be a separate free-to-play mode this time around, with the main campaign available as a separate purchase. For the record, Microsoft actually unveiled free-to-play multiplayer last year.
Halo Infinite is set to launch in Holiday for 2021, although Microsoft didn't give an exact date. It will also be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, which includes PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming platforms.
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After Halo Infinite was delayed last year, it seems that Microsoft has fixed some of the game's perceived shortcomings. Not only is the campaign looking like a huge adventure for Master Chief as he searches for his AI assistant Cortana, but there's also a new AI along for the ride.
But the big announcement was multiplayer. Not only will it be free-to-play, but many of the popular maps that defined the series will be returning. Players will get a few new weapons that should break up the action, like the skewer, which is a spear-gun that can flip over vehicles. There's also a swanky grappling hook that can grab things and throw them at enemies.
Unfortunately, we do no know how much the full Halo Infinite game will cost. At present, players can pre-order the game for $60. Granted, it will be part of the subscription package for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
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Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.