Surprise! Halo Infinite put boots on the ground — and multiplayer on Steam — earlier than expected, giving fans immediate access to the latest chapter of the long-running franchise.
Out of seeming nowhere, 343 Industries and Xbox Game Studios pushed Halo Infinite’s multiplayer beta live on Monday for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, giving players a free-to-play taste of the full game. The full launch is scheduled for December 8th and will include the single-player campaign, while the co-op campaign was delayed into 2022.
So why this week? It’s probably because the original Halo launched 20 years ago on November 15th, 2001.
Users noted that Halo Infinite easily cleared the previous record for the highest concurrency numbers for an Xbox Game Studios title on Steam in less than three hours after launch.