Halo Infinite Will have Microtransactions, but Not Paid Loot Boxes

There’s a whole lot we don’t know about Halo Infinite, and 343 Industries is clearly in no hurry to change that. They did go so far as to tell people that the game would probably not be a battle royale game or have a battle royale mode and that it would functionally act as a Halo 6, but beyond that, trying to figure out any other details has required some serious detective work on the part of fans and journalists. Which is exactly what Gamespot did earlier this week when they uncovered a new job posting at 343 Industries, looking for an “online experience design director”, which hinted at the fact the game would have social features, player progression, and… microtransactions.

This, of course, got people pissed and worried in equal measure, as without knowing what exactly was being sold in this microtransaction store, people were free to assume the worst, including some kind of pay-to-win mechanic, or, even worse: loot boxes.

Well. All this hubbub finally caught 343 Industry’s attention, and while we still don’t know exactly what this store will entail, studio head Chris Lee took to Twitter to say that while the details are still being worked on, loot boxes are definitely off the table.

“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.”

That’s nice, but of course, it’s hard to say if that stems from a general distaste in them or if it’s in response to the controversy surrounding loot boxes in Europe right now. I would be inclined to think the former, as 343 Industries has never done anything to make me suspect they’re scummy and I like to assume the best in people, but I’m happy for the announcement regardless of the intention.

We don’t know when Infinite is supposed to launch, but it’ll probably get a solid release date sometime next year.