Halo Infinite has officially become the series’ biggest launch ever, amassing over 20 million players worldwide. This includes the free-to-play standalone multiplayer as well as players who experienced the single-player campaign, which was readily available on Xbox Game Pass at launch. Developer 343 Industries released a statement thanking fans for their support.
Microsoft first shared the big news during its quarterly earnings meeting on 25 January, revealing that Halo Infinite was the series’ biggest and most successful launch in its history. Xbox services revenues were driven up by 10% from October 2021 through to the holiday season, while Xbox hardware revenues received a 4% increase.
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Halo Infinite may have been a large contributor to those increased numbers, but Xbox also released the critically acclaimed Forza Horizon 5 during the same window as well, which quickly became the Horizon series’ biggest launch of all time too. Xbox Game Pass was certainly a big contributing factor to the success, as it allowed players to access both games for a minimal monthly fee and essentially play them free of charge.
Halo Infinite released last December in the form of both its single-player campaign and free-to-play multiplayer, which managed to attract many first-person shooter lovers. The campaign was praised for its return-to-form gameplay and ambitious open-world design, though there is evidently a bit more room for improvement despite a relatively strong blueprint. 343 Industries were applauded for putting the series back on track again, and it’s showing in its increased player numbers.
Meanwhile, Xbox is making waves in the industry after announcing their historic $68.7 billion acquisition of Call of Duty and Overwatch publisher Activision Blizzard. While the deal will only conclude by mid-2023, talks about exclusivity are already happening in the gaming industry that could change things forever.
Halo Infinite is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. It’s also available on Xbox Game Pass.
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Source: 343 Industries
