Is Halo Infinite's crossplay pitting players against hackers?

Halo Infinite is fun, but forced crossplay frustrates many. [Image courtesy of 343 Industries]
Halo Infinite is fun, but forced crossplay frustrates many. [Image courtesy of 343 Industries]

Halo Infinite is no stranger to controversies, and crossplay is among the top of them. The developers at 343 Industries understand that ranked cheating is a problem worth tackling, but the players are frustrated nonetheless. Reportedly, players cannot turn off crossplay and have no choice but to play with potential cheaters and hackers.

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Community demands optional crossplay in Halo Infinite

Many believe that forced crossplay is unfair for Halo Infinite players. Cheating has been a serious problem in Halo Infinite since the closed beta because of it being free-to-play. When an online game is free-to-play, it’s incredibly easy to make new accounts when the previous ones get banned.

Players are furious at forced crossplay in Halo Infinite [image courtesy of Halo Waypoint]
Players are furious at forced crossplay in Halo Infinite [image courtesy of Halo Waypoint]

This is one of the major reasons why CoD Warzone is rife with cheaters and why they popped up so quickly in Halo Infinite. John Junyszek of 343 Industries announced that there is a patch coming in February to combat cheating, but whether it will be entirely effective remains to be seen.

There are no real solutions being offered right now. [image courtesy of Halo Waypoint]
There are no real solutions being offered right now. [image courtesy of Halo Waypoint]

In some games, players can simply go into the Xbox console’s settings to disable crossplay. This fix was suggested on the Halo Waypoint forums, but it comes with a caveat - it only prevents players from matching with people not on Xbox Live. Since PC accounts use Xbox Live, this solution won’t work.

Some players are simply refusing to play the game until the forced crossplay is removed. Many are of the opinion that forced crossplay might be acceptable at events where the machines can be monitored and cheating is less likely. Others have claimed that eight of the top 15 in crossplay are cheaters.

As of now, there are no serious consequences in Halo Infinite for cheating. All players have to do is make another account and resume playing at the cost of losing Battle Pass progress and any money spent.

Meanwhile, players are hoping for a more enjoyable experience in Season 2.

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