Halo 5: Guardians likely to not have a second Beta phase

If you are among the lucky few who were able to get into the Halo 5: Guardians beta, I suggest you enjoy it because you may not get another chance to play the game before its final release. Granted, this is a multiplayer beta, so if you don’t usually enjoy that particular component anyway, you won’t be missing out on much. As for gamers who haven’t checked out this testing phase yet, know that the clock is ticking as the beta will end later this month. The bad news for everyone is that there might not be another such test according to Halo 5: Guardians developer, 343 Industries.

While they didn’t flat-out say that they are against the idea, the folks over at the company recently confirmed that there are currently “no plans for a second multiplayer beta.” 343 also added that at the moment they are completely focused on the existing beta and are expecting player feedback. A second Halo 5 beta test doesn’t necessarily seem impossible, but I guess it all depends on the players. A well-balanced multiplayer requires a lot of testing and beta participants are crucial as the their feedback is literally invaluable for balancing the game. That is assuming that 343 wants to turn Halo 5: Guardians into an eSport, which they very well might. Halo: The Master Chief Collection didn’t exactly bring the series back into the spotlight of competitive gaming, but perhaps the upcoming title will be able to achieve that feat. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

The Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta began back on December 29 and with run until Sunday, January 18. As a reminder for those already participating in the test, starting tomorrow you will be able to vote on which of the two new maps – Orion and Pegasus – you would like to play on during this week. Halo 5: Guardians currently doesn’t have a specific release date, but 343 Industries confirmed that it won’t reach the Xbox One before late 2015.