Two more Halo Infinite multiplayer beta tests are set to take place this month, one each for 4v4 Slayer and Big Team Battle. 343 Industries ran through all the specifics in its latest installment of the Inside Infinite series, and we're rounding up the key dates and details below.
Dates
- Weekend 1: 4v4 Slayer (September 23-26)
- Weekend 2: Big Team Battle (September 30-October 3)
Specific Times
The Halo Infinite betas will only be available for a set period of hours on each day. "Matchmaking will only be up for a set amount of time each day in order to help us test our servers against the highest concurrency possible," 343 said. "While this does mean shorter time for players to go hands on, it's critical to our primary goal of ensuring that our online services are ready for launch."
Here is the schedule:
WEEKEND 1 (ARENA)
- Thursday evening, September 23:
- Build becomes available for download Thursday night
- Training Mode and Weapon Drills are available
- Friday, September 24 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
- Saturday, September 25 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
- Sunday, September 26 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
- Monday, September 27 @ 10am PT: Flight access closes until Weekend 2
WEEKEND 2 (BIG TEAM BATTLE & ARENA)
- Thursday evening, September 30:
- Flight access turns on
- Training Mode and Weapon Drills become available
- Friday, October 1 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
- Saturday, October 2 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
- Sunday, October 3 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
- Sunday, October 3 @ 9pm PT: Surveys go out to a portion of Halo Insiders
- Monday, October 4 @ 10am PT: Flight access closes
- Wednesday, October 6 @ 10am PT: Halo Support site closes
Halo Infinite's training mode, weapon drills, battle pass, and customization options will be available when matchmaking is offline.
How To Get In
The purpose of the two betas is to test the Halo Infinite servers at scale, so 343 will invite everyone who signed up for Halo Insider as of September 13 to take part. The second weekend's beta test will be expanded over the first, so people who may have forgotten to register for Halo Insider by September 13 will have a shot at getting in.
"Preselection" emails for the Halo Infinite beta tests will begin going out in the next 24 hours, so check your inbox for an invite.
Squashing Bugs
In addition to testing the servers, the beta test will help 343 find bugs--by turning to the community. The studio encouraged people to file bug reports with the developer if they encounter any issues. The studio said it will also keep an eye on social media to track down bugs that the community is reporting.
Game Content
Here is a quick snapshot of what will be included in the upcoming Halo Infinite multiplayer tests:
- Social Arena (including objective modes and a new map on Sunday, September 26)
- Bot Arena (including objective modes)
- Big Team Battle (debuting September 30 - October 3)
- Three modes on Fragmentation
- Training Mode
- Weapon Drills
- Customization
- Battle Pass
- New Halo Waypoint app & web experiences
A livestream this Wednesday will run through the specifics so players know what to expect. This stream will also show off Big Team Battle gameplay. Additionally, another blog post with even more details is planned.
The first Halo Infinite multiplayer beta test took place in July, and it was mostly focused on playing matches against bots. These new tests are bigger and more exciting because they feature live matches against other human players and, in the case of BTB, provide a first hands-on with the mode, which increases the player cap to 12v12.
Halo Infinite is scheduled for release on December 8. The multiplayer element is a free-to-play standalone game, while the campaign is included with Xbox Game Pass.