Halo Infinite sandbox details revealed in new update

What you need to know

• 343 Industries has released a new "Inside Infinite" article that gives insight into what the developer's sandbox teams are envisioning for Halo Infinite.
• The sandbox team discussed how 343 Industries is aiming to place a strong emphasis on giving each sandbox item, such as a weapon or tool, a unique purpose that offers a specific advantage.
• Additionally, the team mentioned that its goal is to create sandbox items that feel empowering without feeling disruptive.
• The next two Halo Infinite updates will focus on the game's environments and audio.

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has released a new "Inside Infinite" article that gives fans a much-appreciated update on the development of the game. Specifically, this article is focused on what the developer's sandbox team is envisioning and creating for the Halo Infinite gameplay experience.

In the article, sandbox team members Quinn DelHoyo, Tim Temmerman, David Price, and Bryan Berryhill go into detail about the overall goal of Halo Infinite's sandbox design. In their words, Halo combat has an important "dance" feel to it that's designed to make players "players  feel combat is in their hands to win or lose." Elements in the sandbox give players the ability to come out on top, and it's up to the player to use the tools at their disposal to their full potential. With this concept in mind, the team explains that the focus of Halo Infinite's sandbox is to make each element in it, such as weapons, vehicles, pickups, abilities, and map elements, all offer some sort of unique advantage or strength that the player can play to.

However, while 343 Industries is designing these sandbox elements to be effective, they also want to make sure that they're not oppressive. "As we prototyped equipment, we gravitated towards those that complemented and enhanced the core combat loop – pushing the boundaries just far enough to feel empowering without being disruptive," said Temmerman. "We looked for equipment that could be paired with maps, modes, weapons, and vehicles in new and effective ways."

Additionally, 343 Industries also wanted to make sure that tools in the sandbox were simple enough for beginner players to use and understand, but nuanced enough that high-skilled players could master them and gain a unique advantage as a result. "Another key aspect was equipment with a low skill floor and a high skill ceiling," said Temmerman. "In other words, equipment that was easy to understand and benefit from for beginner players, but with elements of mastery that allow high skill players to do some amazing stuff."

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Some smaller but noticeable highlights from the article include discussions about different ammo types, the announcement that Halo Infinite will feature fully remappable controls on all platforms, and renders of several of Halo Infinite's weapons. Make sure to check out the full blog post for more details.

Overall, I'm really liking what I'm hearing from the sandbox team, and I can't wait to see the next Halo Infinite update. What are your thoughts on what the developers showed off in this article? Are you excited to see more of what Halo Infinite has in store for Halo fans? Let me know. The studio confirmed in this article that there will be an update in February focused on the game's environments, followed by one in March that will be centered around Halo Infinite's audio.

Halo Infinite is expected to launch in Fall 2021 on the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One consoles, and Windows 10 PCs. The full game's MSRP is expected to be $60 like other AAA titles, although it's worth noting that the multiplayer will be free to play, while running at 120 FPS on Xbox Series X and Series S. We also highly recommend checking out the Master Chief Collection while you wait for Halo Infinite, as it bundles all of the pre-Xbox One Halo shooters together for a great price. This easily makes it one of the best Xbox One shooters available, and it recently got even better with the launch of Season 5 of the MCC.