What you need to know
- Halo Infinite has just released its very first technical preview, known as a flight, to invited players and testers.
- While a great chance to go hands-on with 343i's flagship shooter, the first Halo Infinite flight is plagued with many issues.
- One issue hitting players is being kept at "Pending" when trying to sign-up via the Xbox Insider Hub app.
- At this time, there's no easy fix other than to wait out the numerous server issues hitting the Halo Infinite beta.
The first Halo Infinite beta is now live, and a ton of players are going hands-on with Halo Infinite for the very first time. It's far from a walk in the park, however, as the earliest technical preview for Halo Infinite is expectantly plagued with a wide variety of bugs. The multiplayer preview delivers a diverse gameplay offering on Xbox and PC across three included multiplayer locales against realistic bot enemies and equipped with a decent variety of weapons. But high demand has raised issues for some players jumping into Halo Infinite testing on Xbox consoles, including a widespread "Pending" bug via the Xbox Insider Hub app.
We know many Xbox players are waiting a long time at "Pending" on the Xbox Insider Hub app right now. The servers are under extremely heavy load; please be patient, try again if the "Pending" times out, and stay tuned.We know many Xbox players are waiting a long time at "Pending" on the Xbox Insider Hub app right now. The servers are under extremely heavy load; please be patient, try again if the "Pending" times out, and stay tuned.— Halo Support (@HaloSupport) July 30, 2021July 30, 2021
343 Industries has opted to distribute its Halo Infinite preview via the Xbox Insider Hub, the same console application used for OS previews and app testing. Those invited to the test are directed to use the Xbox Insider Hub app — with the same Xbox profile they signed up for the Halo Infinite beta — to enroll in the technical preview. However, many remain unable to access Halo Infinite due to a frozen "Pending" message when attempting to join the console test.
The problem impacts a subset of applicants accessing the Halo Infinite technical preview on console, with the Xbox Insider Hub failing to process their enrollment. This will leave those attempting to join the test with a permanent "Pending" icon. The Pending error also has the chance to eventually time out, at which point players have no choice but to restart the process and resume their endless wait.
343 Industries has advised that there's nothing to be done at this point, as the issue is related to the severe server stress Halo Infinite and the Xbox Insider program is under due to the influx of eager players. Hopefully, as time goes on, the issues will begin to subside and more players will be able to join the Halo Infinite beta.
Other Halo Infinite beta issues include an "Update Needed" error on Xbox and an issue with multiplayer servers. To keep track of everything going on with the Halo Infinite beta, be sure to bookmark our ultimate guide to the Halo Infinite beta and our list of Halo Infinite beta known issues and bugs.
Issues with the first Halo Infinite technical preview aside, 343i is still trying their best to deliver the next entry to our list of best Xbox shooters, and it looks like they have a great chance of accomplishing exactly that. Halo Infinite arrives later this year for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC.
A new Great Journey awaits
Halo Infinite is the biggest Xbox game of the year by far, and based on what we saw at E3 2021, it looks like it's going to be fantastic.
