How to Play Halo Infinite Multiplayer with Friends

There are many ways to play Halo Infinite with friends online using the Xbox network, such as competitive Multiplayer, Campaign mode via Network Co-Op, and building Forge maps. Halo Infinite also features cross-play, which allows you to play with friends on either PC or Xbox consoles.

How to Add Friends Using the Xbox Network

To play with friends online, you must first add them as a friend on your Xbox account. Visit How to add new Xbox friends | Xbox Support for detailed steps for adding friends.

How to Add Players to Your Fireteam

Once the person you would like to play with has been added as a friend on the Xbox network, you can now invite them to join your Fireteam in Halo Infinite.

To add players to your Fireteam, follow the steps below:

1. By default, press the Tab key on keyboard or the View button on controller to open the Social menu.
2. Switch to the Friends or Recent tab to view the list of Gamertags you can invite to your Fireteam.
3. You can use the Find Friends feature to help you locate and add your friends’ Gamertag to your friends list. This function only works for Xbox Friends and Xbox Gamertags.
   • On PC, you can press the G key (default keybinding) to add friends through Discord. This feature only works if Discord is installed on your PC.
4. Select the Gamertag you would like to invite to your Fireteam.
5. In the Player Options menu that pops up, select Invite.
6. If the player accepts your invitation, they will be added to your Fireteam and will appear under the Fireteam tab.

The maximum Fireteam size differs depending on the selected mode. In Matchmaking, Fireteam sizes are based on the selected playlist. Whereas in Custom Games, you can manually change how many players can join your Fireteam. This allows you to have a Fireteam size of up to 24 players regardless of the selected mode. The chart below shows how many players can be invited into a Fireteam for each mode.

*In Custom Games, the maximum number of players allowed in a Fireteam is 28, but only 24 players can play in a match. The remaining 4 players play as Observers, who are able to view the match from the perspective of any player they select.

How to Create an Open Lobby for Others to Join

You can create an Open/Public lobby to play with other players who you have not added to your friends list.

Create an Open/Public Fireteam Lobby:

1. Press the View button to open the Social screen.
2. Above your name, highlight and select the In Menus option.
3. Change the Privacy setting to Public.
4. Select Back then then Close to return to the Main Menu.

Create an Open/Pubic Custom Game lobby:

1. From the Main Menu open Custom Games.
2. Select Create match and create a match to your preferences.
3. Open Lobby Options and change Visibility to Public.

Join an Open/Public Lobby:

1. Add the person with the open lobby to your Xbox Friends list.
2. To join the open lobby, press the View button and navigate to the Friends tab.
3. Highlight the friend who has the open lobby and select their name to open the Player Options view.
4. Navigate down and select the Join option.

How to Use Split-Screen to Play Halo Infinite Multiplayer

Multiplayer can also be experienced via split-screen. Split-screen is the term for when 2 or more people are playing on the same Xbox console using the same screen. Local split-screen is exclusively accessible on Xbox consoles and applies only to competitive Multiplayer.

On Xbox One consoles, split-screen supports 2 players.

On Xbox Series X|S consoles, the number of players that can use split-screen varies depending on the selected mode. This chart shows how many players can play split-screen for each mode.

 * Matches up to 24 players (12v12) on a Local Area Network. At max capacity, (24 players) this would equate to 6 consoles with each having a 4 player split-screen.

To play local multiplayer with your friends using split-screen, follow the steps below:

1. Turn on a second Xbox controller synced to your Xbox console.
2. Log into a second Xbox account using the second controller.
   • You cannot use Xbox guest accounts in Halo Infinite multiplayer.
3. The second player will be added to your Fireteam locally and join you in any multiplayer mode that supports split-screen, as described above.