Halo Infinite beta test plans scaled back, 343 confirms

Halo Infinite beta test plans will be scaled back due to the coronavirus pandemic, 343 Industries has confirmed.

343 Studio Head Chris Lee said things have had to chance in 2020 following his 2018 statement having “ambitions to kick off an early flighting program”.

In a new blog post, Lee wrote:

With Halo Infinite, we are also committed to building the game in partnership with our community but given the unprecedented challenges of this year, we’re not quite where we expected to be in terms of broader public flighting.

While not the full program we had envisioned, we have been working very closely with the community on nearly every facet of the project. From the earliest planning where we focused on broad feedback around art style and story to actual hands-on playtesting and focus feedback with confidential groups of community representatives over the past two years, Halo Infinite is being created in partnership with the community. The team is still working and assessing options for broader hands-on opportunities before launch and we’ll share an update when we can, but this process doesn’t stop with launch.

Halo Infinite is expected this holiday season on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Windows PC, part of the Xbox Game Pass program.