External Halo Infinite Playtests Lead to "A Turnaround in Opinion"

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The latest Halo Waypoint post from 343 Industries focused on Halo Infinite and had two positive bits of news that stood out: Halo Infinite is being playtested by external groups of people outside of the developer, and whatever’s being played is apparently prompting people to have new, more positive opinions about the game. Even more promising than those updates is the prospect of more Halo fans being able to play Halo Infinite themselves, an event which 343 Industries said will happen as soon as they can make it so.

Halo Infinite’s developer talked about the game and its playtest sessions in the recurring “Tales from the Trenches” section of the Inside Infinite post which catalogued different stories from developers working on the game. Sam Hanshaw, the Live Producer working on Halo Infinite, spoke about the playtest flights that 343 Industries loves to do with different Halo projects and said the feedback has been “heartening” in different areas and that it’s been gratifying to see “a turnaround in opinion” come from these play sessions.

Crossplay, super ultrawide, triple keybinds, and so much more - #HaloInfinite on PC is being built from the ground up with the platform's strengths in mind. Read about the team's vision and what PC players can expect in our latest Inside Infinite.

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— Halo (@Halo) April 29, 2021

“We’ve been conducting external flights and playtesting with a very small external group representing a variety of backgrounds,” Hanshaw said. “Getting to see folks outside the company experience the game for the first time is a thrill. The feedback we’ve been getting has been heartening in many areas, and impactful in others. Seeing a turnaround in opinion based on changes is truly gratifying. Rest assured, now that we’ve gotten our feet wet over the last couple of months, we’re progressing towards expanding playtesting opportunities as soon as we can, so keep those Halo Insider profiles updated!”

These external playtesting sessions 343 Industries has conducted weren’t a beta or anything and weren’t publicly advertised beforehand, so don’t worry about feeling like you’ve missed out on any opportunity to play the game early. Your moment to go hands-on with the game will come eventually, perhaps sooner rather than later if things keep pacing as they apparently are now since Hanshaw advised people to keep their Halo Insider profiles up to date so that they can play when the opportunity presents itself.

We’ll see new gameplay from Halo Infinite in the summer regardless of what happens with these play sessions, so if you don’t get to play by then, you’ll at least get to see what the game looks like in action.