Xbox has once again confirmed that Halo Infinite won't benefit from ray tracing at launch, though it still remains one of the developer's top priorities. The news comes alongside the announcement that Microsoft is working with AMD to make Halo Infinite's PC ray tracing possible once the game has released.
Halo Infinite has been a long time coming, with plans to originally release alongside the Xbox Series X/S consoles in 2020. After being delayed, the title is now locked in for December this year, though the launch will be missing some fan-favorite features. Along with ray tracing, Xbox has confirmed that two beloved game modes from the franchise, campaign co-op and Forge, won't be available on release. The news was a blow to fans of the series, and with no firm release date in sight for the missing modes, many players have been left upset at what some believe could be an incomplete Halo Infinite launch experience.
In a PC-focused Halo Infinite update, Xbox has reiterated that ray tracing won't initially be available for the game, though confirmed that it will be added post-launch. Microsoft also shared details on its partnership with AMD, with the companies working together over the last two years to make Halo Infinite a "spectacular experience for PC players." Through a "close, long-term partnership with Halo," AMD will be helping to add configuration options, performance enhancements, and memory improvements to the game in the future, along with ray tracing. Speaking of the game's post-launch plans, Xbox product marketing manager Noah Benesch writes:
"Most excitingly though, we’re looking forward to working closely with AMD to bring raytracing to Halo Infinite. Raytracing is one our top development priorities post-launch and look forward to sharing more soon."
Xbox first revealed that ray tracing would be a post-launch feature to IGN back in 2020, even before the game was delayed, which is a long time for the now industry-standard feature to still be in the planning stages for a post-launch release.
See the post on Twitter here.
While the Halo Infinite development update does state that the AMD partnership will benefit console players, it's not clear if the future ray tracing update will come to Xbox Series X as well as PC. The feature is seen in a number of Microsoft games already, including the upcoming Forza Horizon 5, and its absence in what's considered to be Xbox's flagship series could be an issue for console players looking to experience the best of Halo Infinite. More details on Halo Infinite's post-launch plans will be revealed in the future, which should hopefully clear things up.
While Halo Infinite fans will have to wait until after the game has released to access ray tracing or enjoy campaign co-op, early reactions to the game's multiplayer have been positive. A number of flight tests have previously granted players access to a beta, which has been praised by fans for its dynamic gameplay, impressive graphics, and arsenal of weapons. Even with missing features, Halo Infinite's popularity means it's still set to be one of the biggest releases of the year, and further post-launch updates could help keep the fanbase returning in the future.
Halo Infinite launches on December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.