Halo Infinite’s battle passes will never expire

343 Industries is totally reshaping Halo’s multiplayer customization in Halo Infinite by adding a few hallmarks of popular free-to-play games. The studio released a multiplayer overview on Monday, where it revealed what players could expect for all the game’s cosmetics when it comes out later this year.

Because Infinite is the first Halo game to feature free-to-play multiplayer, it’s no surprise that the team at 343 is ramping up cosmetics and customization. Not only does it give the developer more items to sell, but Infinite is inviting players to spend hundreds of hours in the Halo arena, and with time investment like that it’s always more fun to look exactly how you want.

One key part of this increased customization is allowing players to change more specific armor types than they’ve been able to adjust in the past. While previous games let you mix-and-match pieces like your visor, helmet, and chest, Infinite will give players much more granular control over individual pieces of their Spartan’s armor. The game also has armor effects, emblems, and weapon skins to choose from.

Image: 343 Studios/Microsoft

Infinite even lets players customize their AI companion. You can now choose various AI’s with different voices or personalities to give you updates over the course of multiplayer matches. You can choose one that’s a little more dry and informative, or choose a more sarcastic voice to follow you around the battlefield. Of course, if you want to keep Halo’s iconic traditional announcer that option will be open to you too.

The multiplayer overview video didn’t go too far into detail about how much all of this customization would cost, but the developers at 343 did mention that the game would feature a battle pass system as well as a storefront. 343 was also very clear that the game would not include random loot boxes and that it would always be apparent to players how to unlock each rewards, whether that’s through the battle pass, simply playing the game, or buying it directly from the store.

In a huge change from other battle passes, Halo Infinite’s won’t be time-limited to the season’s they are released. Instead, players can keep progressing on battle passes until they complete them, and even purchase old battle passes during certain seasons — though you’ll only be able to earn progress towards one pass at a time. While this definitely makes the battle pass system more approachable, it also removes some of the excitement and prestige of unlocking the top-level reward of a pass.

As is the absolute standard for free-to-play games now, 343 confirmed that all of the items that will be sold in the Halo Infinite will be cosmetic only and not effect gameplay at all. One interesting note on this front is that 343 said in the video that players will be able to customize body type. The developer didn’t actually show that option, but it certainly raises some hitbox questions — which are always a hot topic in multiplayer games and have created issues in previous Halo games.

Halo Infinite is set to come to Windows PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass sometime later this year.