Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown: Start date, rewards list, and more

Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown
Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

During each Halo Infinite multiplayer season, players can expect several free events that bolster the Halo Infinite Battle Pass with additional cosmetic items for players to earn or buy. These events are designed to give fans things to look forward to throughout Halo Infinite's multiplayer seasons, and much like the seasons themselves, these events come with a unique theme.

One of these events is the Cyber Showdown event, and both the name and promotional artwork of the event itself as well as developer comments and in-game indicators give us a clear idea of what's included in the event. Here's an overview of everything we know about Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown.

Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown start date and time

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Officially, the Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown event is slated to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. The event will then conclude on Feb. 1, 2022 after two weeks of runtime.

Like Halo Infinite's standard weekly resets, we anticipate that the Cyber Showdown event will begin at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET. This is likely also the time that the event will conclude on its final day, so make sure you keep that in mind if you're planning on doing some last-minute event grinding.

What is Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown?

Source: Xbox Game Studios (Image credit: Source: Xbox Game Studios)

Similar to the Halo Infinite Fracture: Tenrai event, the Cyber Showdown event is a free event that all players are able to participate in. Cyber Showdown will have a futuristic theme centered around bright synthwave colors, flashy visual effects, and cyberpunk-style items.

Players can expect lots of cosmetics based on this theme, including a holographic helmet display, a neon-lit mohawk, and bright purple and pink effects for player armor and kills scores against other players. We also expect to see a variety of additional cosmetics like weapon charms and emblems for weapons, armor, and player profiles. These items are available through a free Event Pass as well as Halo Infinite's microtransactions shop.

It's important to highlight that since Cyber Showdown is roughly the same size as the Winter Contingency event, players shouldn't expect something that's as big as Fracture: Tenrai. This is because the developers have stated that Winter Contingency "is not the same scope/magnitude" as Fracture events. Players shouldn't expect as many rewards as they've been able to earn through the Fracture: Tenrai event as a result.

Will Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown have new content?

Source: Xbox Game Studios (Image credit: Source: Xbox Game Studios)

While previous events haven't included a new form of playable content, Halo Infinite's Cyber Showdown event is introducing a new mode called Attrition. Based on what we've seen of the mode so far, it looks like Attrition is a round-based mode with limited respawns and a "Danger Zone" that slowly overtakes the map, shrinking the playable space while also hurting players who touch it (similar to "the circle" in battle royale games).

It's unclear whether this game mode will stay in Halo Infinite once the Cyber Showdown event concludes, but based on a previous statement from the developers, we expect that the mode will be removed from the game but may potentially return in a playlist at a later date.

Halo Infinite Cyber Showdown rewards list

Source: @leaks_infinite on Twitter Neon Beat, a leaked player effect cosmetic for the Cyber Showdown event. (Image credit: Source: @leaks_infinite on Twitter)

Based on the visible Cyber Showdown Event Pass in-game, we've compiled a list of the rewards that players can expect to earn while playing the Cyber Showdown event. Note that there are also additional rewards available in Halo Infinite's microtransactions shop.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
UnlockItem TypeUnlock Tier
Expecting TroubleStanceTier 1
Electric BubblegunWeapon CoatingTier 2
Cross GlitchBackgroundTier 3
Brute RockBackgroundTier 4
Neon ScreenArmor EffectTier 5
Electric BubblegumArmor CoatingTier 6
KukriWeapon CharmTier 7
BlackpoolVisorTier 8
Hunter BloodAI ColorTier 9
Neon HawkArmor EffectTier 10

Halo Infinite's multiplayer is free to play and is available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One consoles, and Windows PCs. It's a ton of fun, and paired with the Halo Infinite campaign, it's easily one of the best Xbox games available right now.

Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.