Halo Infinite’s problems at launch have pushed 343 Industries to work year-round in order to regain the faith of Halo and first-person shooter fans who were disappointed with the final product. Although the free-to-play multiplayer model was initially praised for bringing Halo gameplay to a wider audience, glaring desync and balance issues tarnished the experience and players began looking elsewhere to scratch the competitive itch. The highly anticipated open-world campaign also had its issues, particularly a lack of co-op which has been a franchise staple from the beginning. Thanks to frequent significant updates, 343 Industries has addressed many of these complaints.

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Following up after the recent Winter Update for Halo Infinite which introduced network co-op and the Forge beta, a new update for December has brought even more features and improvements to the game. Building on the new Forge system, 343 Industries has added a Custom Games browser “months ahead” of schedule so that players can easily find amazing custom creations. A new map has been added called Empyrean, which is a reimagining of the classic Pit map from Halo 3 (known as Pitfall in Halo 4) and is available for matchmaking and custom games.

343 Industries has made customization more accessible by giving all current and future players access to all of Halo Infinite’s armor cores. This includes armor cores from Premium Battle Passes and limited-time events, including Mark V [B], Rakshasa, Yoroi, and Eaglestrike. Additionally, 10 cadet armor coatings have been added to all armor cores for free, giving players a wide range of color options to choose from. Networking improvements have also been made which should cut down significantly on desync issues and annoying “ghost” reloads.

Accompanying the fixes to Halo Infinite’s desync issues are some improvements aimed at PC players. The reticle will finally turn red when aiming at enemies within the weapon’s effective range, although 343 Industries will be monitoring this as it opens up a potential avenue for hacks that rely on detecting changes in reticle color. Mouse aiming will slow down slightly while firing at a red-reticle target to help fine-tune aiming, HDR can now be enabled, and PC players can now move at walking speed thanks to a dedicated walk button.

Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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Source: Halo Infinite