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Microsoft has shared some new details on the PC edition of Halo Infinite. In a blog post regarding Microsoft’s wider changes to PC gaming, the company announced that Halo Infinite will support cross-play for multiplayer and cross-progression.
Likewise, 343 Industries revealed in an Inside Infinite post today that Halo Infinite had been built “from the ground up” for PC. The game will also come with graphics settings that make the best of high-end hardware and multiplayer matchmaking rules that prevent anyone from having an advantage in-game.
Crossplay And Cross-Progression
This announcement means Halo Infinite players can play together no matter what platform they are on, whether that be Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, or PC. As for cross-progression, this means whatever multiplayer customization items you unlock in the game on one platform will move with you to the other. Gameplay progress will also move between systems.
None of these announcements are a surprise, really, given that Microsoft has been pushing crossplay and cross-progression for years now. But it’s a big, notable deal for Halo Infinite because the franchise hasn’t released a new mainline entry on PC since Halo 2. All of the mainline Halo games are now on PC through The Master Chief Collection as well, while Halo 5: Forge is also on PC as a free download. But Halo Infinite will launch day-and-date on PC.
Ultrawide Monitor Support
Microsoft said it’s “working closely” with PC experts to make sure Halo Infinite is a “premier PC experience.” To that end, Halo Infinite on PC will include the following features:
Support for ultrawide and super ultrawide screensTriple keybindsA “wide variety” of graphics options “and more”
Overall, Microsoft said it wants to “make sure that Halo is serving the PC community.”
High-End Graphics Settings
In today’s Inside Infinite post, Mike Romeo, the development lead on Halo InfinitePC, spoke about making the game “customizable and advanced yet accessible and cross-platform at the same time.” However, that doesn’t mean that PC players will be left in the mud. Instead, Romeo plans to “honor” them with “‘Ultra’ graphics quality presets, so the best PC’s hardware can make the game look amazing and offer an incredible PC experience.”
So far the only glances we’ve had at those customizations have come from screenshots of settings menus. That being said, the customizability in Halo Infinite looks promising. PC players will be able to change settings like anti-aliasing, texture filtering, reflections, and dynamic lighting for Halo Infinite on PC.
Crossplay Multiplayer Settings
With console and PC players going up against each other in a game like Halo, there will be challenges, mainly stemming from input type. It’s a simple fact that with a mouse and keyboard, PC players can be faster and more accurate than your average player with a controller. To remedy those discrepancies, and others, Halo Infinite will be implementing a few key multiplayer rules.
First and foremost, both PC and console players of Halo Infinite will be able to change their field of view (FOV). This setting dictates how much players can see on their screen at one time, and on consoles, this value is usually set in stone. To prevent PC players from having an advantage here though, both sets of players will be able to change this key setting.
Input type was also extremely important in the process of figuring out crossplay multiplayer for Halo Infinite. According to Romeo, in social playlists and custom matches, anyone can be matched against anyone, regardless of how they’re playing the game. Instead, competitive games will be more limited. “We plan to restrict competitive playlists based on input type, not console versus PC,” Romeo said. “That’s because we believe the input is the biggest differentiator in gameplay ability (with things like aim assist on the controller or the precision of sniping with a mouse).”
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Microsoft also shared some new statistics about Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC. Since it launched at the end of 2019, more than 10 million people have played it. Microsoft added that the “vast majority” of these players were new to the franchise.
After a delay, Halo Infinite will release this holiday for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It’s included on Game Pass, while the multiplayer element is free-to-play.
