14 DAY TRIAL // The Halo 5: Guardians beta is set to be launched on the Xbox One on December 29, available to all those who have bought the recent Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and the developers at 343 Industries say that offering it so early will allow them to react to all the feedback coming from the dedicated fan community.
Dan Ayoub, the executive producer working on the new project, says that his team does not simply aim to test the server infrastructure and the mechanics of some of the included modes, but also wants to make sure that all the core features of the shooter are offered to gamers to test and comment on.
He tells CVG that “Doing something a year in advance gives us the opportunity to be a lot more reactive. If we put this thing out two months before launch, we aren't going to be able to change or tweak anything. We're going to get a lot of player data coming off of this, we're going to hear what people like and don't like, and we're going to have a year to respond to that.”
So far, 343 Industries has said that it will only include multiplayer elements in the Halo 5: Guardians beta and that there are only a limited number of hints about what the team plans to do with the single-player campaign.
The testing will go on for three weeks and it’s unclear at the moment whether another beta will be introduced later in 2015.
Halo 5: Guardians is an important entry in the franchise
Microsoft says that Halo 5: Guardians is one of the most important titles that are arriving on the Xbox One, which will show the potential of the new console and how it can transform an already established franchise.
When the first multiplayer footage was first leaked, showing a range of new mechanics including a smart scope and thrusters for extra movement options, long-term fans have been critical, saying that this no longer feels like the Halo experience created originally by Bungie.
343 Industries and Microsoft are saying that there are no plans to move away from the main ideas of the series and explain that the added features are required in order to make sure that the shooter appeals to a more modern audience, which might choose to ignore Guardians in order to play Destiny or the new Call of Duty.
