One of the largest criticisms by players of Halo Infinite has been the expensiveness of the cosmetics in the game's item shop. Having heard the outcry of fans, in the latest Halo Infinite update, the Shop's bundle prices have all been drastically reduced, and in some places, as much as half their original price.
Players suspected Halo Infinite's store was going to be problematic when the price of a purple armor coating leaked a couple of weeks before the game's launch. Sure enough, once players got the game in their hands, they were met with pricey paywalls if they wanted some exclusive offerings from the store. This issue, of course, was exasperated by the game's initial lack of free armor customization options, though this has since been somewhat rectified through the campaign's collectibles and modifications to the battle pass. The most egregious monetization in Halo Infinite, though, was charging $8 for a blue armor coating, something players already had on their other Armor Cores.
Starting today, 343 Industries has reduced the prices of Halo Infinite's cosmetics. Looking at currently available items, the most expensive option is the 1,200 Cr (or $12) Neon Superfly bundle, which features 10 cosmetics including two Armor Coatings, a Legendary Visor, two Weapon Coatings, five Vehicle Coatings, and a rare stance. The Neon Beat bundle offers a new Mythic Effect Set, Visor, and emblem set, the most recent comparison being the flowery (and limited) Enlightened Path bundle, which cost $20 during the second week of Fracture: Tenrai. Enlightened Path's pricing was especially bad as $20 was usually the price of a new armor bundle.
The other two bundles for sale here are the Zodiac River Vehicle Coating bundle and the Keep It Clean emblem set, both of which only cost $5. There have been $5 bundles before, but these have been some of the slimmest bundles available, with an equivalent bundle to Zodiac River likely costing $7-8. In Halo Infinite's marketing, 343 Industries has shown off some Spartans that cost upwards of $60 to put together, the price of a new copy of Halo Infinite. For that price, players could purchase everything in this week's Shop twice if they could, showing just how dramatic the jump from $60 to $30 is.
As the first attempt at repricing Halo Infinite's store, 343 Industries did a solid job balancing price and value. The Neon Superfly bundle would have likely cost $30 or something extreme like that in the old system, so for it to be down to only $12 is incredible. Eventually, players will be able to buy cosmetics individually as well, which will further put control into players hands as to how much they want to spend on the game. One has to wonder how much it will cost to buy all of Season 1's items now.
Halo Infinite is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
