Halo Infinite has had a rough first year on the market, which is especially sad to some considering the legendary status of the franchise. Developer 343 Industries is aware of the many community complaints, and the impending Winter Update looks like a good way to win some of those lapsed fans back.
Halo Waypoint has a roundup and a 13-minute preview video of everything coming in the update, which head of creative Joseph Staten calls “a celebration of all things Halo.” If you just want the highlights, the Halo Twitter account has shared a handy list. Among the new features are campaign network co-op, mission replay, new achievements and maps, a free 30-tier battle pass, and betas for Forge mode and match XP. These were first mentioned as being part of the Winter Update back when 343 released its September update video, but it’s nice to know that nothing has changed, especially after couch co-op was canceled.
The new maps look particularly exciting. We’ll soon see how Detachment and Argyle stack up against the best maps in the Halo series. Maps and other content are “just the tip of the iceberg,” according to the Halo Waypoint post, and that’s a good thing: just looking at the replies to that roundup tweet, you can spot plenty of naysayers. The Halo community has been rather rough on Infinite, going as far as to roast weekly rewards and glitch their way into splitscreen co-op after the feature was canceled.
The past year was also marked by a string of departures, ranging from art director to Nicolas Bouvier to studio founder Bonnie Ross. Their absences are still felt by many members of the community, but seeing Joe Staten and other high-level members of the Halo team in the new video ought to ease some concerns.
Halo Infinite’s Winter Update arrives on November 8. Looking at the sheer amount of content and features headed to the shooter, it really does sound like the sort of refresh the game needs. If you ask some fans, it’s adding stuff that should have been there since the start.
