With the release of Season 5: Reckoning on October 17, some of Halo Infinite’s content and engagement vectors are evolving versus what’s been offered in the game thus far. Today, we’d like to get you up to speed on changes you’ll find with the Battle Pass and in-game “Events” (transitioning into “Operations”) once the new season is live.

Overall, content is being delivered in a tighter, more efficient manner with a greater emphasis on moving the community forward together through the same content within the same windows of time.

BATTLE PASS, EVOLVED

Since the initial launch, Halo Infinite seasons have featured a 100-tier Battle Pass which offers various rewards and unlocks across both free and premium tracks. Season 5 will once again offer a Battle Pass full of unlockable content, but the way it’s packaged will be more streamlined than prior seasons.

The Season 5 Battle Pass is comparable to what’s been offered in prior seasons in terms of breadth of content, but now consists of 50 total tiers. Thanks to some improvements with our game systems, we can now include multiple content items in a single tier of the pass. Historically, the Battle Pass may offer a Coating for each Armor Core—represented as individual separate offers across separate tiers. With Season 5, you’ll see a Coating offered in a single tier, and it will work and apply to every Armor Core in the game.

Similarly, rather than having to unlock a left and right shoulder across two separate tiers of your pass, in Season 5, you’ll unlock a full set in a single tier. Being able to consolidate this type of multi-use content into a single tier has resulted in a much tighter, more efficient pass that will net you more content with less grinding. And speaking of grinding, you’ll be able to progress your Battle Pass via Match XP by playing the experiences you want to play (including an all-new Custom Game XP system) in addition to supplemental progression via Challenges.

GO PREMIUM

The Premium Battle Pass will still cost 1,000 credits and will still include 1,000 credits to be unlocked across its 50 tiers. The Premium Pass will still include an extra challenge slot and bonus XP while it’s active, and once purchased it never expires. And, similar to Season 4, the Premium Pass will include an exclusive instant-unlock bonus customization item with purchase (more on that closer to launch!)

FREE FOR ALL

The free content in the Battle Pass has also been streamlined to span the first 20 tiers of the pass. This free content is similar to prior seasons and will take players less gameplay to unlock. In general, as you’ll see further below with our approach to “Operations,” our intent is for in-game engagement tracks to include 20 tiers of free rewards.

The free Battle Pass will be available until the new “Operation” begins (more on this below!) and will be denoted in the game UI. Season 5’s free Battle Pass will be active until November 14, 2023. Upon expiration, the 20 free tiers of content will no longer be available to unlock if you haven’t already completed those tiers. Players who would like to finish the pass beyond the stated cut-off date, or decide they want the additional 30 tiers of content, can purchase the Premium Pass in the shop at any point. When the free Battle Pass period ends, players will permanently keep all of the free content they’ve unlocked prior to the cut-off date.

SEASON 5 BATTLE PASS TL;DR:

• Overall pass is tighter with better-quality content
• Play the way you want! Progress your pass with Match XP (Matchmaking or Custom Games)
• 50 total tiers (includes 20 tiers of free content newly streamlined with a similar breadth of content offered in a more efficient manner)
• Premium Pass:
  • Costs 1,000 credits
  • Includes 1,000 earnable credits over the course of completing the Premium Battle Pass
  • Includes exclusive instant bonus customization item
  • Includes an extra challenge slot and Bonus XP when activated
  • Never expires; yours to keep and complete at your leisure
  • Available for purchase in the Shop at any point after season launch
• Free Pass:
  • 20 tiers of content
  • Availability and access expires on November 13 with the start of a new Operation
  • Can be converted to Premium at any time

Overall, our hope is that by streamlining the pass and fitting more, high-quality content into fewer tiers, we’re able to reduce friction and make it more obtainable to more players. Additionally, a smaller time commitment coupled with even greater value content hopefully presents a better incentive for players considering a premium upgrade.

The shorter expiration window for the free pass is perhaps one of the biggest changes, but our hope is that providing more content across fewer tiers will offset any potential time pressure. Further, we hope to be able to move the bulk of Halo Infinite’s players forward together, experiencing the same new content at the same time.

ENTER OPERATIONS

Since launch, Halo Infinite has featured numerous “Events” which offer free earnable, themed rewards during a specific window of time. While we have enjoyed playing events and earning cool content, we’ve heard feedback that they often feel too limiting (short windows that may not align with player availability) and once they’re gone, there’s no way to ever obtain that content again.

With Season 5, we’re evolving to “Operations” which are similar to “Events” in spirit but brings a few specific changes we want you to be aware of.

One big thing that’s NOT changing: Operations, like Events before them, will continue to launch as totally free activities. Each Operation will include 20 tiers of free unlockable rewards that can be progressed at your leisure over the specified duration of the Operation.

Unlike prior seasonal Events, a typical Operation will run for approximately 4 to 6 weeks, and the reward track is available to progress and unlock for the entire stated duration. All players will have more time to progress and obtain rewards compared to the old Events system. Like the Season 5 Battle Pass and prior seasons’ Events, when the Operation comes to an end, access to the free Operation Pass goes away and players won’t be able to unlock any further reward tiers (unless they have opted into the Premium Operation offer described below). When a free Operation pass ends, players will retain all of the earned content they’ve unlocked up to that point regardless of whether they choose to go premium.

An Operation will always offer 20 tiers of free earnable rewards, but for players who choose to go premium a few additional options are available. First, players may choose to upgrade an active Operation for 500 credits, which will instantly unlock an exclusive bonus customization item while also making the Operation pass durable (it will not expire) and, when equipped, offers bonus XP and an extra challenge slot during the Operation’s live window.

A second premium option for 2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers at purchase as a convenience and additionally includes the exclusive bonus customization item.

To directly address player feedback and provide more flexibility, an Operation won’t disappear forever once it concludes. Once an active Operation has ended, the Operation pass be purchased at any point thereafter via the Switcher or Shop (for both the 500 and 2,000 credits instant-unlock offer).

The way you progress an Operation is also changing compared to how Events used to run. Historically, players had to focus on completing challenges as the only means of unlocking the 10 tiers of free content. Starting with Season 5, Operations progression is based on Match XP so you can play whatever playlist you want (even Custom Games) and make progress across 20 tiers. Challenges are still there as another source of XP for players on top of Match XP.

OPERATIONS TL;DR:

• Free 20-tier reward track
• Play what you want to progress (including Custom Games)
• More time to complete than pre-Season 5 “Events”
• Free access expires at the end of the Operation (but you retain everything you’ve already earned)
• Premium Upgrade:
  • 500 credits includes special instant unlock bonus cosmetic
  • 2,000 credits includes above + instant unlock all 20 reward tiers
  • Operation Pass never expires
  • Includes Bonus XP and extra challenge slot when active
• When an Operation has ended, it becomes available for purchase in the Shop.

 SEASON 5 OPERATIONS

Season 5 will include two Operations on the heels of the launch Battle Pass:

• “Combined Arms” – Begins November 14
• “Winter Contingency III” – Begins December 19

Please note that these details are subject to change—please refer to the official information within Halo Infinite for the latest and greatest info once Season 5 has launched.

LOOKING AHEAD

We’re excited to jump into all the new features, content, and experiences coming with the launch of Season 5 on October 17.

In the meantime, keep an eye on Halo Waypoint for more about what’s coming including a deeper dive into some of the new notable Spartan and weapon customization content coming to the game.

And, for a closer look at the full Season 5 Battle Pass and more Operations details, join us live from the Community Stage at the 2023 Halo World Championships for a special Season 5 presentation (in-person at the Washington State Convention Center and streamed live on Saturday, October 14).

Updated 10/14

SEASON 5 ROADMAP
Straight from the Community Stage here is the Season 5 Roadmap with some top-level details of all the goodness coming to Halo Infinite.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming blogs covering Season 5.

• HALO GEAR REWARDS – Learn more about the Halo Gear Rewards program for Season 5.
• MODE OVERVIEW – Learn more about the return and revamp of Halo 4's Extraction mode.
• MAPS OVERVIEW – Take a guided tour of Forbidden and Prism with our multiplayer designers.
• FORGE UPDATES OVERVIEW – Find out about the AI toolkit for PvE, along with new objects, palettes, options, and more coming to Forge.
• RANKED OVERVIEW – All you need to know about Ranked, sandbox, and balancing updates and changes in Season 5.
• CUSTOMIZATION OVERVIEW – A complete breakdown of new customization content coming in Season 5, the Battle Pass, Shop changes, and more.