Halo 5 Beta Menu Screen and Spectator Mode

The Halo 5 Beta was free to stream for certain members of the press who showed off various aspects of the upcoming multiplayer beta. The Halo 5 beta will be available publicly to those with a copy of Halo The Master Chief Collection on December 29. The image initially came from a reddit user named TheLittleMoa and has been confirmed to indeed be the actual Halo 5 beta menu screen. On it you can access “Arena Multiplayer Beta”, “Halo Channel”, “Spartan Hub”, and “Message of the Day.” The Halo 5 beta itself will have seven playable maps and three modes. It will also feature new weapons and let players try out new features such as everyone having unlimited sprint and a boost dodge ability. The beta will run from December 29 to January 18. Anyone who has Halo The Master Chief Collection will have access to the beta although there are no other details on how to get in.

Bonnie Ross, 343 Industries general manager, stated that she Microsoft wants Halo to last another 30 years. 343 Industries is currently in charge of Halo development and Ross calls the expectation, “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.” 343 Industries upcoming title, Halo 5 Guardians will be their second Halo. The developer’s studio was created in 2007 and the thirty years relates to their formation, meaning Microsoft wants Halo to be a big budget franchise until 2037. Halo 4 was the beginning of the Reclaimer trilogy, but now Microsoft is referring to the new Halo series as a saga instead of a trilogy. So now there is no limit to how many sequels they can pump out with no end in sight.

Spectator mode in the Halo 5 beta is a eSports focused mode that will allow players to view friends matches in real time from multiple angles. There will be a delay in the feed that will prevent cheating. The spectator mode was created in order to allow people to live stream commentaries on matches easily. Josh Holmes spoke on the Halo bulletin saying that the seven maps and three modes in the Halo 5 beta will be rolled out as the beta progresses and won’t be available all at once at launch.