Halo Infinite multiplayer will get ray tracing on Xbox Series X

Halo Infinite Oasis map image
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

  • Halo Infinite Season 3, Echoes Within, is now available for players across Xbox consoles and Windows PC. 
  • One of the features added in this new season is ray-traced sun shadows, which are now available in the PC version of the game if players have the correct hardware. 
  • 343 Industries shared in the patch notes for the season that this feature will be coming to Xbox Series X in the future. 

While one of the neat features in Halo Infinite's latest season is currently exclusive to the PC version of the game, that won't be the case forever. 

According to the patch notes for Halo Infinite Season 3, Echoes Within, ray traced sun shadows will be coming to Xbox Series X in the future, though there's no time frame on when to expect this. 

Ray-traced sun shadows were newly added to the PC version of Halo Infinite with the launch of Echoes Within on Tuesday. This new toggle allows players with the necessary hardware to get more realistic shadows from sunlight across the multiplayer maps of Halo Infinite. Naturally, ray-traced sun shadows require an AMD Radeon RX 6000 series or GeForce RTX 2000 series card or higher. If you've got one of the best graphics cards available, you'll also likely see far better performance.

Outside of ray-tracing on PC, Halo Infinite Season 3 adds three new maps, a new premium Battle Pass, and new story content for players to learn. Like for prior seasons, the Season 3 Battle Pass will never expire, and players can swap back and forth between passes whenever they want.

Windows Central's take

While it would've been great to have this a while ago, it's good that ray traced sun shadows are now available for PC players and that console players will eventually be able to enjoy the improved visuals as well. 

Halo Infinite's multiplayer has had a rough ride since launch, but Season 3's additions are extremely promising, so hopefully 343 Industries can build on that. 

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Halo Infinite Credits

1,000 credits or so is going to be more than enough for the vast majority of players. With these credits, you can buy the Battle Pass and start unlocking new cosmetic features.

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Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.