The servers for Halo Infinite's multiplayer mode have been experiencing issues on its very first day. Halo players were pleasantly surprised at 343 Industries announcement that the free-to-play multiplayer mode would go live earlier than scheduled. This led to a flood of players downloading and playing the game, which peaked as the most played Xbox Studios original game on Steam.
Halo Infinite's early release was actually leaked several days ahead of the official announcement, creating a sense of hype within the Halo community. Coinciding with the original Halo's 20th anniversary, the Halo Infinite multiplayer release was a fantastic opportunity for Xbox to pay tribute to its flagship game. With the multiplayer for Halo Infinite being free-to-play, many fans of the series were eagerly looking forward to trying what has been teased as the next great evolution of the first-person shooter genre.
However, the launch has not been quite as smooth as perhaps 343 would have liked. On the day of its launch, players have been reporting issues with server instability. On the Halo Infinite Steam boards, players are reporting being unable to access the multiplayer, even after verifying their account in the game. This comes after issues earlier in the release, where players were encountering a blue screen or other similar errors, as reported by The Verge. However, according to Halo Support on Twitter, those issues have now been resolved. However, it is unclear whether an issue for the connectivity issues is being worked on as well.
Although the unannounced release of the Halo Infinite multiplayer mode was quite a risk for 343 to take. However, the risk paid off massive dividends, as Halo Infinite quickly became the most-played Xbox original game on Steam. With over 162,000 concurrent players on the Halo servers just two-and-a-half hours after the game was available, the Halo Infinite launch was an unquestionable success. These server issues, troublesome as they may be, do not take away from the otherwise stellar release day.
If nothing else, the success makes it clear to just about every player and observer that the dominance of Halo is far from over. In addition to the Halo Infinite multiplayer, the game's campaign is set to launch later in November. While it will not be free to play, critics have already weighed in on the promise that the Halo Infinite campaign might offer. In addition, a recent announcement revealed that a Halo television show is in the works. It seems that Halo fans will have plenty of content to consume in the near future.
The multiplayer mode for Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The full version of the game will launch on December 8, 2021.
Source: Steam, The Verge, Halo Support/Twitter