‘Halo Infinite’ will launch without multiplayer “assassination” feature

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Upcoming Xbox exclusive Halo Infinite will launch without one of its more popular multiplayer features, the ability to ‘assassinate’ rival players.

The confirmation came as part of a recent multiplayer technical preview, showcasing the game’s online competitive element (thanks, GamesRadar).

While much of the stream, hosted by Brian “ske7ch” Jarrard, developer 343 Industries‘ community director, was focused on new features – such as an academy mode to train players to better compete in online multiplayer, and bots to test skills against – one statement stood out by highlighting what won’t be included.

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Joined by 343’s multiplayer associate creative director Tom French, Jarrard asks a handful of questions from fans, including whether assassinations will feature in the game.

“They’re not in for launch, and I think we’re just going to be straight about that,” French confirmed.

French goes on to illustrate one of the reasons for their omission – high tier professional players in esports tournaments tend to disable assassinations anyway, as the longer animation cycle compared to a simple melee kill can shave valuable seconds off a player’s response time and overall performance.

“At a lot of levels, people just turn them off, because there’s a gameplay disadvantage to it,” French said. “One of the things we really wanted to do was take a step back and [ask] how do we think about how do these fit into Infinite’s gameplay loops.”

However, it doesn’t sound like the feature is gone for good, with French also confirming that 343 is planning to re-introduce assassinations when the time is right.

“When we bring them back, we want them to be back and fit right into our sandbox and the loops of the game,” French said, “and bring them back in a way that really just feels meaningful, so they’re always an accessible tool, but also kind of a flourish moment that people have.”

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You can hear the exchange at around 1hr7m in the video above.

Halo Infinite is currently set to launch on PC, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One around Holiday 2021.

Elsewhere, a datamine of the game has uncovered hints that Halo Infinite may also feature a battle royale mode. While that remains unconfirmed, 343 Industries has announced that for the first time in the series’ history, the muliplayer component will be free-to-play.

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