Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta

"WE'VE GOT A NEW CONTACT, UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION!"

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A promotional image for the beta

The Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta is a phase in the development of Halo 5: Guardians, produced by 343 Industries and organized by Microsoft. Purchasing Halo: The Master Chief Collection gives players access to the beta,^[1] which is to be made available on December 29, 2014^[2] and is set to end on January 18, 2015.^[3] It was first revealed with a teaser trailer shown at Microsoft's E3 2014 media briefing.

The focus of the beta is on small maps with 4v4 arena gameplay. A notable difference to Halo 4 is the absence of custom loadouts; every player will start with identical equipment.^[3] A notable addition in the beta are the new Spartan abilities, which will replace the armor abilities from the previous games. 343 Industries has described the beta as traditional in that it will be used for the intended purpose of beta testing and gathering feedback for a game still in progress, as opposed to merely showcasing a largely finished product for marketing reasons.^[4]

Included features

The beta will feature seven maps, three game modes, eleven weapons and fourteen sets of armor.^[3] The beta will also allow users to offer feedback on things like power weapons, maps, and game modes in the Halo Channel.^[5]

Note: all subjects below are listed tentatively based on their appearance in media released so far; the following does not reflect the full feature list of the beta.