Halo Infinite’s next samurai multiplayer event will offer more free cosmetics

After its frustrating Tenrai event, Halo Infinite’s upcoming samurai challenge will see some significant improvements — specifically, more earnable in-game cosmetics.

The Tenrai multiplayer event for Halo Infinite — the first of many such events — offered players some cool samurai gear for their Spartan if they were willing to complete a host of challenges. However, some of the items shown in the marketing for the event weren’t earnable in-game and instead found their way into the store, and advertisements weren’t clear on which items would be free and which would be paid. That was a mistake, said head of design Jerry Hook in 343 Industries’ holiday 2021 community stream, and something the team is looking to rectify next year.

“We want the events to be a place where you can earn new content and not care about whether you’re going to pay or not,” said Hook. “And we want that content to be high quality. That’s why we wanted the Fracture [Tenrai event] — it’s completely new armor that’s all earned by the player playing during the event. It’s completely new, achievable stuff throughout the entire season. None of that should be available in the store. We made that mistake; I’m sorry about that.”

Hook said that there will be several improvements to the event when Tenrai returns on Jan. 4, 2022. Players will see fewer XP bonuses and challenge swaps in the Tenrai reward track. Instead, players will be able to pick up actual cosmetics like armor coatings, shoulder pieces, and other cosmetic items for their in-game Spartan.

Some items that were originally intended for the in-game store will become earnable in-game instead — specifically armor pieces shown in the trailer. However, this excludes all items 343 sold in the store during the first Tenrai event.

Hook also said that 343 will add more event challenges, so players won’t get stuck on a random weekly challenge and be unable to progress and earn new rewards. This comes as part of a wider initiative to improve the challenge system, which 343 partially implemented on Wednesday. The team is also working to make all the Fracture events more fulfilling for free players, ensuring the events are worth their time regardless of whether they want to spend money in the store.

Update: A representative from Microsoft confirmed that while 343 Industries will offer more free in-game cosmetics in future Tenrai events (including those seen in trailers), the update will not include the real-money-only items seen in the first week of Tenrai. Those initial Tenrai store items will not be available to earn for free in any upcoming Halo Infinite events.

We’ve updated the story to reflect Microsoft’s clarification.