Halo Infinite's deathmatches are going free-to-play

Halo: Infinite's campaign might be torn between nostalgic throwback and open-world reinvention, but we've still got no ruddy clue what's going on with the series' multiplayer come November. Well, whatever form it takes, there is one thing for certain - jumping around with your Spartan-II pals won't cost a penny. Following quiet rumblings earlier this week, 343 Industries have confirmed that yes, Halo's multiplayer murderings are going free-to-play.

Suggestions that Halo's multiplayer would come without a pricetag started to surface a few days ago. As reported by The Verge, a now-removed listing from Smyth's toy stores suggesting the freeness of Infinite's arenas - along with 120fps on Xbox Series X hardware - was backed up by a reliable Xbox leaker.

Last night, 343 confirmed both rumours via the Halo Twitter account. Yes, Halo Infinite's multiplayer will be free-to-play - and if it's running at a buttery 120fps on Xbox, it'll probably be a delight to run on your beefed-up desktop. That's really all there is to say at the moment, mind, with more deets on Hinfin's multiplayer to surface at a later date.

We can always speculate, of course. 343 describe Infinite as a longer "platform", one that'll hopefully stick around for the next ten years, so I wouldn't be shocked if its multiplayer followed a seasonal, battle-pass led model. As someone who's been plugging away at custom Halo 3 games with pals lately, though, I'd certainly hope it keeps some of that freeform sandbox nonsense. Contemporary shooters simply don't let you run about at 200% speed with low-gravity hammers.

Set to release later this November, Halo Infinite drew a bit of criticism for its flat visuals - criticism that 343 insist are being taken "very seriously" in a response post. Infinite does already have a firm fan in our Nate Crowley, mind, who's been gushing in adoration of that demo's melancholy war gorilla.