Remember when I joked about Halo Infinite going free to play prior to the Xbox Games Showcase? Well, looks like it’s partly coming true according to this tweet…

That’s a pretty big shift for Xbox’s biggest franchise and one that will certainly make a lot of old Halo fans think more about jumping into the game at launch. Not a lot more has been shared beyond this but if I were to guess I wonder if the recent success of Call of Duty Modern Warfare may have guided the model chosen here. Though the bulk of the game (campaign, multiplayer and co-op) is still behind a pay wall, the Battle Royale mode Warzone is free to play and has probably pushes the season pass model better than the games own classic multiplayer modes while making substantial income too. So I’m thinking that’s what we’re going to see with Halo Infinite but taken a step further with a much clearer split between what you pay up front for.

That might mean for players wanting the campaign related content for solo and co-op play it’s going to cost you up front. It’s generally accepted that most Halo fans play the campaign so this doesn’t change anything. Multiplayer is a fickle thing where many games come and go but those that stick around succeed with a combination of great free services and a regular income through season passes providing players with additional in game items the more they play. When it works well people will stick around which keeps the player counts up. For those modes involving a large number of players it’s essential for long term success.

Seeing as they are entering a space that has a well established method for generating income I don’t think it will stray too far from the norm… there’s likely going to be some kind of paid content and a season type pass. People wanting to unlock new cosmetic items will pay up for these but everyone else who just wants to spend a couple of hours shooting stuff can make do with the basics. It’s worked for Fortnite, PUBG, etc too so why not Halo?