Halo Infinite’s crossplay functionality, which allows Xbox Series X/S users to play with and against PC gamers, is causing ire in the game’s community.
Xbox players are increasingly frustrated with having to face mouse-and-keyboard opponents, as well as the many cheats that are more prevalent among PC players of the game.
As reported by The Verge, fans have been airing their complaints since the game’s multiplayer launched last November, highlighting the cheating of some PC gamers (such as those using aimbots and wallhacks), as well as the advantages that a mouse and keyboard setup has over a controller.
The complaints have continued over the past few months, as players have called on developer 343 industries to make crossplay an optional feature, rather than a permanent, default setting. You don’t have to look far across the Halo Infinite subreddit to find recent frustrations from Xbox players struggling against their PC counterparts.
Although crossplay can be disabled in Halo Infinite’s ranked modes when playing solo, with players given the option to lock matchmaking to controller or keyboard players only, it’s not possible to disable crossplay in the game’s main playlists.
Analysis: a fair request
Crossplay is a tricky feature. Often praised for widening a game’s player base and allowing friends to play together regardless of what consoles they own, its functionality is complicated in the case of a competitive multiplayer shooter like Halo Infinite.
Whether you’re playing ranked or casual, no one wants to face an opponent with an unfair advantage, and it’s difficult to see how PC gamers have anything but that. Even without the cheats that the more unscrupulous players might use, the pinpoint accuracy and motor control of a mouse easily exceed that of a controller’s analog stick.
As many fans have pointed out, the most obvious, and possibly straightforward, solution would be to allow players to opt-out of crossplay should they want to. That’ll allow Xbox and PC buddies to play together when it suits them, while letting other players keep to their own lane.
Although developer 343 Industries hasn’t officially responded to players’ crossplay concerns, it has emphasized that it will be continuing to tweak and update Halo Infinite with quality of life improvements. During its announcement that Big Team Battle matchmaking will be getting a hotfix sometime soon, it said additional anti-cheat updates are in the works, too, with the next major update scheduled to release in mid-February.
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