Halo Infinite will have a battle pass system, but it won't be like the battle passes you're used to.
As revealed in today's the Halo Infinite Battle Pass will not expire. "The Halo Battle Pass will never be taken away from you. What I mean by that is once you buy it, it's yours and it does not expire," says lead player investment designer Christopher Blohm. But that's not all - you'll be able to purchase all of the old battle passes in future seasons, as well as the current one, and choose which battle pass you want to apply your progression towards. Yes, that means you'll never miss out on a chance to get that epic armor at the end of a battle pass - you just gotta play enough to get it.
With Halo Infinite multiplayer going free-to-play for the first time in the franchise's history, 343 Industries seeks to remove the confusion that many players face in other free-to-play titles that have buyable battle passes. All of these rewards are single source, so you're never going to be confused about where things come from," explains live design director, Ryan Paradis. "A lot of our stuff is unlocked through playing the game and only through playing the game. All customization is just cosmetic," says Blohm. So there's no pay-to-win here, Spartans.
Customization will include armor coatings, helmets, shoulders, gloves, kneepads, armor emblems and a ton of more stuff. And with each season offering a new theme, there will be some seriously sick Spartans running around in the sandbox.
Oh, and, Halo Infinite won't do things like games like Call of Duty: Warzone, whose Roze skin was available as a final reward in the Battle Pass but also purchasable in the store. "If you can unlock something the Battle Pass, we're not gonna let any other players circumvent that by purchasing it out of the storefront," Paradis assures us.
This is certainly a measured approach to the battle pass system which has gained popularity with free games like Warzone and Apex Legends. Considering this is Halo's first free-to-play multiplayer game, it's clear that 343 Industries is trying hard to make sure it invites new players in without alienating old ones.
Halo Infinite is set to release Holiday 2021.
Halo Infinite multiplayer is also getting bots to make it the "most approachable" in the series.