Halo Infinite is the next big Halo game coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, but a recent a job application description{.nofollow} for 343 Industries revealed a potentially disappointing development: the game will have microtransactions.
This immediately got fans worried that Infinite would follow in Star Wars Battlefront II's controversial footsteps, but luckily, 343 Industries' Studio Head Chris Lee spoke out on Twitter, clarifying that Infinite will not have paid loot boxes.
Keep the faith, it's appreciated! We're still working through final plans and will share more when we are ready, but I can definitely say that Halo Infinite will not include real-money loot boxes.Keep the faith, it's appreciated! We're still working through final plans and will share more when we are ready, but I can definitely say that Halo Infinite will not include real-money loot boxes.— Chris Lee (@tefferlee) September 19, 2018September 19, 2018
This is quite the relief to everyone interested in the title, but it does beg the question: if Halo Infinite doesn't have paid loot boxes, than what will its microtransaction system look like? I did some theorizing, and these are what I consider to be the most likely possibilities.
Read: 5 features we want to see in Halo Infinite
Direct item purchasing
One possibility is that Halo Infinite will have cosmetic items, such as armor or weapon skins, available for direct purchase. This type of system is similar to the one that exists in Titanfall 2, which the gaming community has praised for offering microtransactions that have zero impact on gameplay.
For that same reason, I feel that a system like this would be an excellent route for Halo Infinite. It's worth pointing out that players may or may not be able to earn the cosmetics by playing normally, depending on the way this system can be implemented. The former is preferred, but the latter still isn't bad as long as there's a good amount of cosmetics you can earn.
Booster packs
One of the types of cards you have a chance of getting when you open one of Halo 5: Guardians' infamous REQ packs are booster cards. These allow you to boost the rate at which you earn experience points for a single match.
While it's true that paid REQ packs are going to be absent from Halo Infinite, there is a possibility that the booster cards that were in them will become their replacement. Since your player level has no impact on gameplay or customization, I believe booster pack microtransactions would be the best type to include in Halo Infinite by far.
Expansion-style updates
Though not often thought of when talking about microtransactions, expansions technically fit the definition, and because of this, I think that they might be the microtransactions that the 343 Industries job description is referring to. Halo has released content like this in the past, ranging from map packs to skin collections, so it's entirely plausible.
There are positives and negatives to consider here. The pro is that players can earn everything vanilla through gameplay, but the con is that content updates may come with a price tag instead of being free like they were in Halo 5.
Your thoughts
What do you think of these possible microtransaction systems? Let me know.
Read: The complete Halo timeline series
- See Halo 5 on Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)
- See Halo Wars 2 on Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)
- See MCC on Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)
