Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite is the 2021 entry in Microsoft's flagship sci-fi shooter series, developed by 343 Industries (renamed Halo Studios in 2024). Its multiplayer launched free-to-play on November 15, 2021, with the campaign following in December. It runs on 343's proprietary SlipspaceEngineSlipspace Engine (Halo)The Slipspace Engine is Halo Studios' proprietary engine, built for Halo Infinite as its debut title. In 2024 the studio announced future Halo games will move to Unreal Engine 5, but Halo Infinite itself remains on Slipspace.1 game in this family → engine; in 2024 the studio announced future Halo games will move to Unreal Engine 5, but Infinite itself stays on Slipspace. It is on Steam, the Microsoft Store and XboxPublisherXbox Game Studios (Microsoft)Xbox Game Studios is Microsoft's first-party publishing label. Halo Infinite is developed by Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries, renamed 2024). Halo Infinite added Easy Anti-Cheat in 2024 in a non-kernel variant, after launching with only a server-side system.2 games in this family → app, and Xbox consoles, with cross-play and cross-progression.

Halo Infinite asks relatively little of your system: the EACAnti-cheatEasy Anti-Cheat (EAC)Easy Anti-Cheat is one of the most widely deployed kernel anti-cheats in PC gaming. Founded by Finnish company Kamu in 2006, acquired by Epic Games in 2018, and bundled with Epic Online Services. The kernel driver loads while a protected game is running. User-mode daemons EasyAntiCheat.exe and EasyAntiCheat_EOS.exe are catalogued in the Field Guide's processes section.18 games in this family → it added in 2024 is the non-kernel EOS variant, scoped to multiplayer, and it keeps working on Linux and the Steam Deck. The game process is HaloInfinite.exe and the anti-cheat is EasyAntiCheat_EOS.exe. If you only play the campaign or Forge, the anti-cheat does not apply.

Halo Infinite's anti-cheat posture is deliberately on the lighter end. At launch it shipped only 343's own server-side system (Arbiter), with the studio publicly stating it wanted to make cheating harder in ways that did not involve kernel drivers, which it characterized as feeling like an overreach. On March 19, 2024 it added Easy Anti-Cheat, but in the Epic Online Services variant that, as reported, does not run a kernel-mode driver, and which was enabled for Linux and the Steam Deck, something a mandatory kernel anti-cheat would typically block. EAC here is active in multiplayer only, not the campaign or Forge. The game process is HaloInfinite.exe; the anti-cheat runtime is EasyAntiCheat_EOS.exe.

As a free-to-play game that for over two years had only server-side anti-cheat, Halo Infinite had a sustained PC cheating problem (aimbots, wallhacks), worsened by free accounts being easy to replace; 343 layered on player reporting, ranked-entry requirements, and finally EAC in 2024. In competitive play the Halo Championship Series has issued notable bans, including a 2021 suspension for matchmaking manipulation (geofiltering) and a later disputed case in which a competitor received an extreme ban and publicly contested it. The contested case is a reminder that an alarm is not a verdict.