Developer 343 Industries has shown off new Halo Infinite campaign screenshots to demonstrate what a difference its new PC-exclusive options offer. These work-in-progress looks at the game show how PC customization will for several visual enhancements that have never before launched in a Halo game, and the new images reveal just how much that option has been missed.
According to 343, Halo Infinite's PC port is being developed by PC players for PC players, and it will include settings customizations that audience expects to see in a AAA experience. The studio has put a large focus on console and PC parity, rather than the console-first, PC-second-if-ever mentality of previous mainline Halo entries. While a previous announcement from Microsoft revealed that Halo Infinite will have both crossplay and cross-progression on both systems, a batch of new screenshots and developer information reveals more special features are incoming for PC users when the game launches.
Keeping the flow of information steady after the game's high-profile delay, a Halo Waypoint development update dropped Thursday. New screenshots reveal a lot about the upcoming Halo game, like weapon and HUD visual changes, but by-far the most stunning are the FOV and widescreen options. Halo Infinite will support a variety of screen resolutions on PC, including 32:9 super ultrawide, as announced earlier by Microsoft. FOV can be expanded beyond that, as well, and new campaign screenshots (including some that show an enemy-filled room that signals a return to a Forerunner art style more reminiscent of Halo 3) showcase the new features well. 343 says it wants the game to look especially good on curved, wide-screen monitors, but the standard 16:9 view is still quite the looker in Zeta Halo landscape comparisons.
As previously announced, 343 confirms that Halo Infinite for PC will have ultrawide and super ultrawide monitor support and triple keybinds. However, the developer also revealed that the game will support a range of input devices for various gamepads on PC, as well as mouse and keyboard support when playing on Xbox consoles. There will also be advanced sensitivity and acceleration for mouse controls. The most notable feature, however, is FOV customization, which offers a wide range of views for both PC and console players, much as Halo: The Master Chief Collection has been updated to offer.
There are reportedly many more features arriving on the Xbox and PC versions at (and possibly after) launch that have still yet to be detailed. 343 Industries is likely hiding plenty of Halo secrets until the release date gets closer. The studio's PC mentality is shocking considering previous Halo games skipped the platform for years until just recently. Halo Infinite PC producer Jeff Guy reportedly fought for many of the so-far revealed PC features, and he says some of his priorities have been ensuring the game plays well on multiple hardware families of hardware and that no intrusive DRM will be added to the game.
Though it's all rather targeted, 343's efforts to bring parity between PC and console versions of Halo Infinite is likely music to the average hardcore player's ears. The screenshots demonstrating the widescreen customization also reveal just how beautiful the game is going to look when it is released later this year, barring further delays as the studio and Microsoft continue to try to get its flagship Xbox and PC experience right.
Halo Infinite will be available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in Fall 2021.
Source: Halo Waypoint