Halo Infinite Battle Pass


On Monday, 343 Industries dropped Halo Infinite's new and hotly anticipated multiplayer mode, catching gamers by surprise on the Xbox's 20th birthday. And the reaction has been pretty uniform across the board: 


Multiplayer's gameplay is f**king awesome. The Battle Pass f**king sucks. 


Indeed, players are raving about the fun, fast-paced gameplay and the internet abounds with many a wild clip of some of the hijinks many feel captures the original spirit of an enterprise that some decried as lost during last year's fumbled announcement for Halo Infinite. 


But the Battle Pass, however, has a few quirks that make it a little different from most other games: there is no progression awarded for completing matches. Instead, players earn XP to rank up their battle pass solely by completing challenges. 


It's an interesting take on a now-old system and a bone-fide attempt to try something new -- something most gamers can get on board with -- but the execution is shortsighted for one clear reason: it sucks to conclude a rip-roaring, edge-of-your-seat match with absolutely zero XP because you didn't think to try killing three people with your sidearm. It's kind of like watching a chef at Benihana do all the onion volcano tricks and then being asked to leave as soon as it's served -- there's something inherently incongruent with the setup as it is. 


And the internet has not been quiet about it. 


Halo Infinite Battle Pass Reactions








Halo Infinite Battle Pass







Halo Infinite Battle Pass







Halo Infinite Battle Pass







When Will Halo Infinite Battle Pass Be Fixed? 


Luckily for all those shaking an angry first at 343 Industries, the developers have been quick to acknowledge the general reaction to the Halo Infinite Battle Pass. Community Director Brian Jarrard hopped onto Twitter to say their teams were cognizant of the issues people had with the new system and we're working on tweaks to improve it. 






Is Halo Infinite Battle Pass Worth It?




Ultimately, the Halo Infinite Battle Pass works a little differently -- as we've mentioned. One thing that seems to be generally glossed over when lamenting the lack of general gameplay XP and the necessity to complete disruptive, obscure challenges is that the Battle Pass XP is permanent. That means that players can complete the Battle Pass at their own leisure without racing to finish it before having the rug pulled out of them before the end of the "season" -- i.e. how most games do it. 


So, while there are certainly some serious tweaks that need to be made to fix the Halo Infinite Battle Pass and its concrete problems -- better challenges more conducive to general gameplay, for starters -- there are a few positive takeaways from the Halo Infinite Multiplay launch. 


The fact that we can universally agree that the gameplay is solid and a return to form for the long-beloved franchise is what you, as a gamer, really want. An excellent battle pass on a sh*tty game is like pinning a medal to a hot turd, and it's easier to fix a Battle Pass than the game. A lot easier. 


The second takeaway is that 343 Industries has proven themselves, thus far at least, as an attentive developer who is -- a few speedbumps here and there -- at least attempting to live up to their idea of developing things with a "gamer's first" mentality. Whatever you think of the Halo Infinite Battle Pass, you can rest somewhat assured that 343 Industries is, at the very least, listening.