After waiting rougly six years for a new game in the series,343 Industriesis set to deliver arguably the biggestHaloyet withHalo Infinite. Players have already gotten their hands on the game’s iteration of multiplayer thanks to the free beta while the full game is set to release in early December. However, many players are starting to have problems with the beta and are leaving games early, causing even greater problems for the player base.
TheHalo Infinitemultiplayer beta kicked off on November 15 for players on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC to jump in and enjoy the full suite of multiplayer maps and modes that will be available at launch. As of this writing, the multiplayer is split between four playlist options - Big Team Battle, Ranked, Bot Bootcamp, and Quick Play - containing classicHalomodes like Capture the Flag, Slayer, and Oddball alongside the new Stronghold mode. Maps and modes are chosen at random before the start of each match, a change from previous games in which players could select maps, modes, weapon selection, and more.
RELATED:Halo Infinite to Receive Changes to Ranked Matchmaking in the Future
It is this change in particular players are taking issue with, causing many to leave games early and ruining the experience for other players. Reddit user Shaun-On-Toast shared their experience on the game’s official subreddit, posting a clip from aBig Team CTFmatch where more than half of the lobby leaves the match. Other users echoed Shaun’s experience, saying it has become a serious and consistent issue in the beta.
Several users argue the problem is one of 343’s own making because of how it went about designingInfinite’s multiplayer. As mentioned above, custom match control had been a staple ofHalo’s multiplayer going back toCombat Evolvedand was one of the series' most popular features with players. The argument is taking the feature away, along with challenges requiring specific modes to complete, opened the door to this problem.
On one hand, players' frustration with the design choice is understandable given the level of control previously available. Random match and map selection is a major deviation inHalo’s multiplayer and would likely cause some frustrations within the player community. That said, it can be argued players leaving matches early only adds to the problem by ruining the multiplayer experience for other players.
The largelypositive reception toInfinite’s multiplayershows it is hitting the correct nerves with many players, despite any frustrations with the playlist setup. 343 may choose to address this following the game’s full release, though it may not be immediate.
Halo Infinitereleases December 8, on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The multiplayer beta is available now.
