

For most free-to-play games like Apex Legends and Warzone, that means offering premium content like seasonal battle passes that players can purchase and then progress along, unlocking cosmetics, weapon blueprints, and currency along the way. If you give consumers a product for free, you have to figure out a way to get money out of them.

It seems 343 has taken the core Halo ethos and upgraded it for an industry trending towards the battle royale – basically, Halo Infinite has figured out how to do free-to-play the Halo way. It's infinitely clear that 343 Industries has taken the extra year of dev work to figure out a nuanced way to approach the free-to-play shooter – one that doesn't have a pay-to-play scheme and maintains the immaculate vibes of a shooter so iconic it spawned its own subculture. The gameplay looks fresh and fun while still feeling uniquely Halo, and the approach to a more democratized version of free-to-play was apparent. When a Halo Infinite multiplayer overview debuted during E3 2021, it managed to clear up any concerns in just under 13 minutes. How do you take something as iconic as Halo multiplayer and make it as accessible as a Call of Duty title without compromising its unique gameplay brand? That's why the decision to take Halo Infinite free-to-play makes sense from an industry standpoint – but when 343 first announced its plans, long-time Halo players were naturally very concerned. Since Halo 5: Guardians released in 2015, the landscape of the multiplayer shooter has drastically changed, with free-to-play battle royales like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone surging in popularity.
