Halo Infinite won't have dual-wielding at launch

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries says it has no plans to bring back the series' dual-wielding mechanics.

In the 'Ask 343' video below (starting around the 5:30 mark), lead sandbox designer Quinn Delhoyo was asked whether the studio would bring back the mechanic in its new game. Unfortunately, he said that "currently [...] that's not in the cards right now."

Explaining the decision a little further, Delhoyo said that "whenever you set out to make a game the size of Halo Infinite there's just so many things you can do. I think we have a really talented team where we can do anything, but we can't do everything, so we want to really focus down on the weapons, the gunplay, grenades, melee."

Rather than put the time and resources into dual-wielding, Delhoyo explains, 343 decided to focus its efforts on bringing equipment back. All that said, he didn't rule out the system completely, stating that "right now dual-wielding isn't necessarily there, but that's because we're trying to focus on all the other things we're working on." That's no guarantee that it'll return in the future, but it certainly leaves the door open for that eventuality.

Elsewhere in the video, the team behind Halo Infinite talks about the game's day and night cycle, how using equipment will work in multiplayer, and more. It's a hefty video at 44 minutes, but it should help give Halo fans a better sense of what awaits them later this year.  

There's still no word on an exact release date for Halo Infinite, after the Xbox Series X launch game was delayed indefinitely in August last year. Master Chief is now expected to arrive in Autumn 2021, but until that date is locked down, so keep your eyes peeled for more.

Here are some of the other upcoming Xbox Series X games.