Halo Infinite SWAT, Fiesta & Free-For-All playlists are expected this month

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343 Industries are working to add permanent playlists to Halo Infinite for popular game modes Fiesta, SWAT (Tactical Slayer) and Free-For-All. These are expected to be added to the game by the end of 2021, with a Social Slayer playlist with multiple variations will arrive in early 2022.

The news comes from 343 Industries Community Manager John Junyszek, who has been the regular bearer of good news regarding significant changes to the game’s Challenge-based progression and more.

He claims that the reason why these playlists weren’t in Halo Infinite for the 15th November multiplayer launch was so that they could first be trialed through the week-long events such as the recent Fracture: Tenrai which was based around Fiesta mode.

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It’s an unusual justification when these are game modes that have been staples of the Halo franchise for as far back as most fans can remember. SWAT in particular is a go-to mode for a large number of hardcore players, and it feels like 343 Industries wanted to keep it and other more casual modes back to feed the in-game events.

Whether or not that was the plan, it’s good to see 343 Industries quickly adjusting the game based off fan feedback to be more forgiving through its progression systems and the breadth and depth of the gameplay it offers.

Here’s Junyszek’s explanation:

Let’s talk about Halo Infinite playlists!

We’ve been reading your feedback, and we’re working on plans to add Fiesta, Tactical Slayer (SWAT), and Free-For-All playlists as we speak. They won’t land by Dec 8, but the team is pushing to get them in before the end of year.

Our goal for Events is to try new modes prior to adding to playlists. We’ll monitor playlist health after the 3 additions above and adjust our offering if needed, but we’re excited to make these updates before the holidays. This is just the start of the conversation with y’all.

A Social Slayer playlist (with multiple variations) is also in the works (we see this request the most), but we won’t be able to get that one ready until after the holidays. We hope you can understand and enjoy the ones that make it in before the team takes a well-deserved break!

We published out review of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer yesterday – it might be branded a beta right now, but this is the full multiplayer game, transactions, maps, modes and all. In it we were rather critical of the progression and other elements that have been wrapped around the sublime gameplay at its core:

“Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is a fantastic showcase of just how brilliant Halo can be, its fundamental gameplay and the mix of small and larger-scale modes a joy to play. It’s just a shame that so much of that is being clouded by the dismal battle pass, paid cosmetics and unsatisfying progression. Halo Infinite multiplayer is a must-play for shooter fans, but its monetisation needs to change if it’s going to survive in the long run.”

Halo Infinite free-to-play multiplayer is out now for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. The Halo Infinite single player campaign will release on 8th December, which will be the nominal full release of the multiplayer as well.

Source: Twitter

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