Halo Infinite Season 3 is Out Now, 343 to Deliver Updates More Consistently Going Forward

It’s been a long wait, but Halo Infinite Season 3 is finally here. Season 3 was originally supposed to launch back in November of 2022, but was delayed four months to this March. 343 did drop a “Winter Update” in the interim, adding Forge and other features, but technically, Halo Infinite Season 2 ended up lasting over 10 months. Thankfully, 343 Industries’ head of live services Sean Baron promises future updates will arrive on a more consistent, timely schedule.

“Seasonality is really about consistency – we need to be consistent in everything. I feel very confident with where we’ve gone with Season 3, and I have very strong confidence that we’re going to be able to keep improving that consistency, and avoid, completely, the long seasons of the past. We’re going to be more consistent. We’re going to continue to evolve the game in close partnership with our players. We’re focused on shipping Season 3 and then, as Chief said, we’re ‘Ready to get back to work.’”

Halo Infinite Season 3 offers up a variety of content, including the new Oasis Big Team Battle map, and the Cliffhanger and Chasm traditional Arena maps. You can get the official rundown on the new maps, below.

• Chasm (Arena) – A new Arena multiplayer map, Chasm, is now available in Custom Games and various matchmaking playlists. In Chasm, players will battle across a long, suspended walkway deep within a Forerunner complex.
• Cliffhanger (Arena) – A new Arena multiplayer map, Cliffhanger, is now available in Custom Games and various Matchmaking playlists. On Cliffhanger, players will fight in an asymmetrical ONI outpost, hidden atop a snowy cliffside.
• Oasis (Bit Team Battle) – Oasis, a new Big Team Battle (BTB) multiplayer map, is now available via Custom Games and various matchmaking playlists. On Oasis, players will compete in an asymmetrical UNSC outpost located in a remote, desert landscape.

Season 3 will introduce the Escalation Slayer mode and a “Community Collection Playlist” that will allow you to earn XP by playing various maps created by amateur creators in Forge. Some of these look rather clever, like “Art’s Room,” which takes place in a large Toy-Story-style gamer’s bedroom.

In addition to the new maps, Halo Infinite Season 3 adds the Shroud Screen gadget that will obscure your movements. We’re also getting the M392 Bandit, a powerful one-shot rifle that looks somewhat similar to past favorites like the M392 MDR. Season 3 will also include a number of new events, including a pair of narrative events and the Firewall Fracture. Get more details on those, below.

Echoes Within Narrative Events – Mindfall and Site Unseen

“Season 3 will feature two separate Echoes Within events. These narrative events will each last two weeks and feature different 10-item Event Passes. The first of these events, Mindfall, will run March 7 –  21. Stay tuned to the News section of Halo Waypoint for the latest updates on the Site Unseen event.”

Fracture: Firewall

“Season 3’s Fracture event will provide players with multiple weeklong opportunities to complete Event Challenges in the new Escalation Slayer mode and earn up to 20 rewards. While the Season 3 Battle Pass features customization items for the MIRAGE IIC Armor Core, the free Fracture: Firewall Event Pass features customization items for the Chimera Armor Core. Similar to the Echoes Within events, these customization items can only be earned by completing Event Challenges while the event is active.”

As we’ve already detailed, ray-traced shadows are being added to the PC version of Halo Infinite. Here’s some more information on that.

“Players on PC are now able to toggle Raytraced Sun Shadows from the Settings menu. When this feature is enabled, all shadows cast by the sun will appear more detailed in multiplayer gameplay. The Raytraced Sun Shadows option does not apply to the Halo Infinite Campaign.

Ray Tracing requires DXR Tier 1.1 support and functions with AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series and later, as well as GeForce RTX 2000 Series and later. If your hardware does not support Ray Tracing, the option will be grayed out in the Video settings menu. This option will be available on Xbox Series X in a future update for Halo Infinite.”

Of course, Halo Infinite Season 3 will include a new battle pass, cosmetics, and lots of smaller tweaks and new features. You can get the full patch notes for the update here.

Halo Infinite can be played on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. The Season 3 content is available now.