Halo Infinite rewards Game Pass members with these special perks

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Who wouldn't want a special MA40 AR in Halo Infinite?

Image of Halo multiplayer skins.
(Image credit: Halo Waypoint)

Update: Our full Halo Infinite review is now live, with impressions of the campaign and multiplayer modes. You can also check out performance on Xbox One, and see how the game looks on older hardware

While Halo Infinite is free for everyone, regardless of their subscription status, 343 Industries and Microsoft are offering a few bonuses for gamers who have an active Xbox Game Pass membership. 

Microsoft has announced that Game Pass members will get unique monthly perks in Halo Infinite's multiplayer mode. The first set of perks, titled "Pass Tense" will include an MA40 Assault Rifle with an Xbox-green coating, four 2XP boosts and four challenge swaps. The Pass Tense bundle will go live on Dec. 8, the same day that the Halo Infinite single-player campaign launches.

Halo Infinite Pass Tense bundle contents.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Halo Infinite's multiplayer has been resounding success so far. Not only has it seen 270,000 concurrent players on Steam, but fans have also been extremely positive about the game.

One thing that sets Halo Infinite's multiplayer apart is its free-to-play nature. Unlike other multiplayer Xbox titles, Infinite does not require an Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass membership. There's also cross-play support, so PC gamers can play with friends on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The game is also available for Xbox One. 

Halo Infinite's battle pass could use some tweaking, though. This is the system within Infinite that allows players to level up. Unlike other systems that simply look at kill-death ratios or a player's number of wins, battle pass asks players to finish specific tasks or play certain modes to advance. Challenges can include killing a certain number of players with a specific gun, or playing through a certain game type. In addition, progression is horribly slow. It's the one demerit that our phones editor, Jordan Palmer, gave Halo Infinite's otherwise-strong multiplayer showing. It's no surprise that 343 Industries has already pushed through sweeping changes to the Battle Pass system.

Imad Khan
Imad Khan

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.