Halo Infinite: Why Multiplayer Is Free & The Campaign Isn’t

Halo Infinite’s multiplayer just released for free, and it may be in hopes of broadening their player base and sparking eSports interests.

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Halo Infinite multiplayer saw a surprise release on Monday, being completely free-to-play for everyone, with the campaign releasing later this year for $60. This is only the start, with further free content updates and more story content planned to be added down the line. This has left some curious as to why the campaign is being released at retail price, but the multiplayer component of the game is free for everybody.

Following a delay, Halo Infinite is the long-awaited follow-up to Halo 5, released in 2015. The campaign is set to once again follow Master Chief, traversing the ringworld Zeta Halo, in an effort to track down an artificial intelligence known as “The Weapon” in order to track down his previous AI companion Cortana, fighting off anyone who may pose a threat to her following the previous game’s ending. In a change of form for the series, Infinite will take on a semi-open-world style of gameplay, with players able to active fast travel around the sprawling landscape of Zeta Halo as well as use new movement options granted to Master Chief, such as the grapple shot and thruster.

The Halo Infinite campaign retailing for $60 was never called into question all throughout development, but why just the campaign? The possible explanation is simply to broaden the player base for Halo games. With eight main games in the Halo storyline, playing through all of them to catch up may seem a daunting task for some, even with these games conveniently being released on the Master Chief Collection. As a result, Microsoft seems to be giving players a choice – those who wish to see the story of Halo continue can purchase the campaign once it launches, and those who are only interested in the multiplayer now can access it for free, without also purchasing a campaign with a long, branching story that references narratives they may not have followed prior. By offering Halo Infinite multiplayer for free, Microsoft is also opening itself up to alternative revenue sources it previously didn’t have access to with prior Halo games.

The Rise of Free Shooters May Have Influenced Halo Infinite’s Release

In recent years, developers have noticed a trend in video games that have a free-to-play model rather than an upfront cost. Games such as Fortnite and Apex Legends, for instance, have seen great success. Massive player bases are potentially easier to acquire when the retail barrier to entry is completely removed. A notable number of these games have been financially successful, with Fortnite reporting $9 billion in revenue between 2018 and 2019. Developers have been discovering that when provided with a high-quality free-to-play experience, players who are enjoying the game are more likely to spend money on in-game purchases, which potentially lead to increased profits over all if the right balance is struck.

Multiplayer games are increasingly common in this space due to their social aspects Some players may wish to spend extra on premium cosmetics that they feel look good on their character, and often to differentiate themselves from others, as free “basic” skins tend to be largely worn by new players. Halo Infinite is dabbling in this new structure as well. Much like Fortnite and Apex Legends, Halo Infinite features an in-game currency to purchase cosmetic items, as well as a Battle Pass, a premium tiered reward system that provides additional rewards as players earn enough experience points to rise through the tiers.

How eSports Is Affecting Halo Infinite’s Multiplayer

The rise of professional gaming leagues in the past few years may also have influenced Microsoft to release Halo Infinite’s multiplayer as a free-to-play title. Professional eSports draws plenty of livestream viewers to watch the greatest players participating in their favorite competitive games, and most importantly, it can inspire more players to get into the game themselves. Riot Games has shown clear success in this, with high player counts in League of Legends and VALORANT, both free-to-play games that provide in-game purchases, much like Halo Infinite multiplayer. Riot is known for their support of professional eSports, specifically for their own games, being major tournament organizers and using in-game purchases to directly fund the prize pools for the tournaments they run.

Halo Infinite seems already to be gearing up for this, with skins available for purchase that correspond with the nine teams that have partnered with the Halo Championship Series. If Infinite were to use its battle passes and in-game cosmetics to boost attention for Halo eSports and potentially increase the prize pool for major tournament play, Microsoft would be ensuring lots of eyes on the game, and as prize pools go up, player counts tend to go up – people who want to play the game for a long time and actively improve in hopes of one day qualifying to get a piece of that prize pool.

With multiplayer-focused titles such as Call of Duty: Vanguard and Battlefield: 2042 garnering mixed reception due to buggy launches, Halo Infinite’s surprise launch provides a stark contrast. Although it’s unlikely all video games will one day be free-to-play at launch and depend on in-game purchases to turn a profit, Halo Infinite may be making history with its launch. One could argue that the Halo series has always been a series of massive campaigns, the theatricality and detail of which are what people largely pay for, rather than the multiplayer modes, but Halo Infinite leans into the mindset by removing the need of owning the campaign at all to access multiplayer. Boosting the multiplayer’s player base and removing barriers to entry will likely allow Halo Infinite multiplayer to maintain popularity with the in-game cosmetics providing the profit the publishers want to see. Microsoft and 343 Studios seem to have had a relatively smooth launch for Halo Infinite multiplayer, and if they continue to support the game – and the potential eSports leagues that spawn for this game – Halo Infinite may be the strong start Microsoft needs for the next 10 years of Halo.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/halo-infinite-multiplayer-free-campaign-paid-esports/