Halo Infinite update winter battle pass ‘padding’ disappoints players

The next big Halo Infinite update is almost upon us, as 343 Industries wants to revamp the FPS game with the addition of match XP, new maps, the release of the Forge beta, and a brand new 30-tier battle pass. Players have spotted an issue with the multiplayer game’s new battle pass though, as it looks like the Halo Infinite update is somewhat padding for space.

It should be mentioned that everything in this Halo Infinite update is free, including all of the 30 tier battle pass, so while complaints can rightly be levied at 343 for how it chooses to lay out progression, the team is still attempting to give back and acknowledge concerns that the Halo Infinite battle pass felt like it had slow progression in the multiplayer game.

Free in-game rewards for levelling and playing are always good, especially with the impending change to XP being rewarding for winning matches and playing the objective, but many players have noticed that the Halo Infinite update’s 30-tier battle pass is reusing a lot of content.

You can see a list of all the Halo Infinite update Winter battle pass rewards in the image below.

On paper this isn’t a bad thing, but I think the 30-tier battle pass is so crammed with it that players have easily taken notice. Four of the 30 are dedicated to the same shoulder armour with minor variations, another four for the same emblem (just on different objects), four to Xp boosts, and then there’s a sprinkling of more shoulders and some helmets and visors.

All of these do look good, but players want 343 to bundle up things like emblems and shoulder pieces into one tier, instead of spreading them out so much and having rewards feel less and less well, rewarding, the further into the Halo Infinite update they get.

It’s a difficult balancing act really, as you want rewards to feel like they mean something, but to also have everything spread out in a way that makes them exciting, instead of just seeing what is essentially the same reward popping up over and over again.

Despite these player complaints, 343 Industries are trying to make up for its mistakes, and it’s good to see free rewards and a massive overhaul to the game in this Halo Infinite update too. While Reddit is filled with talk of the reusing of tiered items in this free battle pass, it’s worth remembering that there’s more to come.

If you want some more Halo Infinite content, 343 recently addressed fan concerns about adding campaign AI into Forge so they can make Firefight themselves, with 343 saying this is “top of mind” for the game. Halo Infinite’s new multiplayer mode from Certain Affinity is also going to be “something big,” according to the team.