With this Halo Infinite first beta test news, I'm finally getting excited

Halo Infinite is unquestionably the biggest Xbox Series X title on the horizon, but before it launches later this year, the folks at 343 Industries want to put it through its paces. The company plans to test the game ahead of launch, with the first of these tests coming up quickly. 343 Industries is calling this upcoming test a "technical preview," and it could happen as soon as this weekend.

That's according to a lengthy blog post recently posted to Halo Waypoint. In that post, 343 Industries explains its philosophy behind testing, what it aims to accomplish with these tests, and how it will collect and process feedback from players. That blog post also houses initial details for the very first Halo Infinite technical preview, which will be a multiplayer, bots-only affair.

Yes, while you'll be playing in teams alongside other real players during this test, your team will be facing down groups of bots. Halo Infinite will be the first Halo game that supports bots, so 343 wants to make sure that the bots it's created are good enough to give players a fight. In the upcoming technical alpha, players will have access to the Bot Slayer game mode on the Bazaar, Recharge, and Live Fire maps. 343 says that it will roll out "daily content offerings" that will keep players on their toes, but things will start slow to ease everyone in.

In addition to Bot Slayer, players will also be able to test a wide variety of Halo Infinite weapons in Weapon Drills. Weapons that will be available for testing include the MA40 AR, BR75, MK50 Sidekick, CQS48 Bulldog, Needler, VK78 Commando, S7 Sniper, Plasma Pistol, Pulse Carbine, Ravager, Heatwave, and Skewer. Participants will also be given a certain amount of in-game credits to unlock cosmetics and progress battle passes so 343 can see how players navigate the UI, but the cosmetics you unlock during the technical preview won't carry over to the full game.

This is a big test for 343 and Halo Infinite, because the game has faced significant delays over the past year or so. Fans reception to Halo Infinite's big reveal last year was definitely lukewarm, so this technical alpha is 343's big chance to impress those who may still be skeptical about Halo Infinite.

To get into the Halo Infinite technical preview, you'll need to register as a Halo Insider. Details on how to do that are available over on Halo Waypoint. 343 didn't give a specific start date for this first technical preview but said it could be ready as early as this weekend. We'll keep our eyes peeled for more information on this, so stay tuned.