We’ve seen two trailers, yet somehow most of Halo Infinite remains an enigma. Here is everything we know about the next installment of the popular series.<\/b>
\nIt has been quite the wait, but Halo Infinite is nearly here. First revealed during Microsoft\u2019s E3 presentation in 2018, the highly anticipated game is scheduled to hit shelves this holiday season. Although we are a handful of months away from its release, there\u2019s still a lot we don\u2019t know about the game.
Over the past two years, 343 Industries and Microsoft have been cautious about what content is offered to the public. The curtain was pulled back slightly during July\u2019s Xbox Games Showcase, which showed off the gameplay debut, yet most of Halo Infinite remains an enigma. Here\u2019s everything we know about the next installment of the popular series.
Further reading
Release date: Holiday 2020
Developer: 343 Industries
Publisher: Microsoft
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC
Much of what we know about Halo Infinite comes from the two trailers released by Microsoft. The first was the announcement trailer from E3 in 2018 \u2014 and although it didn\u2019t reveal much, it did show off the new Slipspace engine.
That vague trailer was followed up with the Discover Hope trailer in 2019. This time, we watched Master Chief interact with a UNSC Marine after being rescued from orbit; then, he held a brief conversation with Cortana. There\u2019s a lot more going on in this trailer than the one from 2018 \u2014 be sure to check it out below if you happened to miss it the first time around.
Other than these two trailers, we\u2019ve also seen a bit of concept art from 343 Industries. While the images on their own didn\u2019t reveal much, the accompanying blog post provided fans with some of the best Halo Infinite details to date.
In July, we got our first glimpse of gameplay that confirmed Halo Infinite will be a more open title and pits Master Chief against the Banished, enemies most well known for their involvement in the Halo Wars games.
Details surrounding Halo Infinite\u2018s narrative are still murky, but we do know one thing: Master Chief is the star of the show. Infinite will take place after the events of Guardians, and it sounds like players won\u2019t be switching off between Chief and an auxiliary character, as they did in the last installment. In a post by Chris Lee, Studio Head at 343 Industries, he mentions that the team \u201cheard feedback loud and clear on the amount of time spent playing as the Master Chief in Halo 5,\u201d and that they will \u201cfocus on the Master Chief and continue his saga.\u201d
Xbox tweeted a video teasing Master Chief as the central character in the game, honing in on the digits \u201c117\u201d branded on his armor, which refers to his other name of John-117.
Some fans believe that the destroyed ring in the trailers is Zeta, but 343 is yet to confirm these theories. Unless Halo Infinite wants to introduce a brand new ring; however, Zeta seems like a pretty good bet. Others believe Cortana might take on the role of villain, which, after the events of Guardians, could be a real possibility.
July\u2019s gameplay reveal gave us the biggest clues yet as to Infinite\u2018s story. The demo opened with a date: May 28,2560, which places it two years after Halo V Guardians. It mentions that this is \u201c167 days after we lost,\u201d and based on dialogue from the Banished\u2019s leader toward the end of the demo, that would be a loss to his troops.
The demo shows the UNSC soldier from the previous trailer, whom 343 officially refers to as the Pilot, and Master Chief crash-land on the Halo ring. The Pilot seems a little resentful at the fact that ever since he found Master Chief floating in space, he\u2019s gotten into nothing but trouble. Master Chief promises that the pair can look for a ship to get them off the ring once he has taken out three anti-aircraft cannons.
Master Chief heads to one of the three cannons and comes across a message from the Banished\u2019s leader. He asserts that he has control of the ring, says that he shares the same goal as \u201cthe Harbinger\u201d of carrying out the Banished\u2019s founder Atriox\u2019s will, and challenges Master Chief to face off against him.
The Banished leader is revealed in an interview to be War Chief Escharum, with speculation that the Harbinger he mentions is actually Cortana. What has happened to the rogue A. I., and the rest of the UNSC? Not even Master Chief knows, and uncovering that mystery is a journey the player and the Chief will go on together.
343 Industries confirmed in an interview that they are looking for Halo Infinite to be a 10-year experience that gets updated, both technologically and with new story content, over time. The team did not confirm whether this was a live service game like Destiny 2. One of the first tech upgrades will be raytracing, which will be available soon after launch.
The game will act as a new platform, and a launching-off point for new fans, which ties into the sense of discovery to what happened between Guardians and Infinite.
A major point of controversy among Halo fans has been Halo Infinite\u2018s graphical style and presentation demonstrated during July\u2019s Xbox Games Showcase. Many criticized it for its low fidelity, lack of detail, and blocky nature. A community update called Infinite Inquiries provided answers to these concerns.
The update assured fans 343 Industries has heard the feedback, both positive and negative, of consumers. 343 defended Halo Infinite\u2018s presentation in its similarities to Bungie\u2019s first three Halo titles and classic art style, though it acknowledged gamers\u2019 complaints about the game\u2019s visual fidelity and is \u201cworking as quickly as possible on plans to address some of the feedback around detail, clarity, and overall fidelity.\u201d
Previous rumors insisted Halo Infinite would only come with a campaign at launch, though the community director for 343 Industries tweeted this was untrue and that multiplayer would accompany the campaign at release.
Much like previous Halo titles, Halo Infinite will allow for 2-player couch co-op and 4-player online cooperative play, despite worries the game would not include classic co-op.
With titles such as Fortnite and Apex Legends dominating the market, it\u2019s only natural to think that Halo Infinite might jump on the battle royale bandwagon. However, it appears that the game won\u2019t include such a mode \u2014 at least not at launch. Frank O\u2019Connor from 343 Industries spells it out pretty clearly when he says that there are \u201cno plans\u201d for a battle royale mode.
As for multiplayer content that the game will include, fans can expect to see split-screen play, LAN support, and the return of the beloved Forge editing tool. This is a Halo game, after all, so fans will likely hear more about the robust multiplayer offerings shortly.
Shown during July\u2019s gameplay demo, and confirmed via an interview with project leads, Halo Infinite will feature an open Halo ring for players to explore. However, it will be several hours into the campaign before they\u2019ll have access to it. While the player will be able to explore at their leisure, and even backtrack to certain areas, Infinite will not have a nonlinear story \u2014 343 wants the narrative to continue moving forward. The game will also feature a day\/night cycle and wildlife to create a more vibrant world.
Halo Infinite will also adhere to classic Halo difficulty standards, with players able to choose from the conventional Easy, Normal, Heroic, and Legendary difficulties.
The game will include item pickups similar to Halo 3 items, according to reliable Halo insider Klobrille.
\u201cGrapple hook, thrust or classics like overshield. All this is very dynamic and might vary heavily based on playlist etc. of course. But more on all that at a later date.\u201d
These items will be discoverable in the open world, and the grappling hook was shown in the gameplay demo to either traverse the topography or pull Master Chief toward his enemies.
Several new guns were shown off, such as a burst plasma fuel weapon of the Banished\u2019s entitled the Ravager, with a blade on end for increased melee damage. The Mangler is a Banished pistol that is slower than the UNSC\u2019s but deals more damage. The UNSC shotgun is being replaced by the CQS48 Bulldog, which is 12 gauge versus the original\u2019s 8. The VK78 Commando is a new UNSC rifle that excels at longer ranges. The classic Covenant Carbine is also getting a slight upgrade with the Pulse Carbine.
No multiplayer details were shown off during the demo, but it seems classic modes, as well as LAN multiplayer, will return. However, it isn\u2019t clear whether the actual shooting mechanics will be more reminiscent of the recent Halo 5: Guardians or pre-343 Industries Halo iterations.
Klobrille added they weren\u2019t sure how these might be worked into the game\u2019s campaign, but they will vary in their implementation on multiplayer maps.
Fans who pick up Halo Infinite on Xbox One won\u2019t have to repurchase the game when they upgrade to the Series X, as it will be a part of Microsoft\u2019s Smart Delivery system. This means that all Xbox One copies come with an Xbox Series X version of the game at no additional cost.
Better yet, Halo Infinite will be included in the Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft has been trying to heavily promote this service by pumping it full of excellent first-party games, and something as popular as Halo Infinite is sure to give the platform a massive boost. Players interested in trying the service can usually get the first month for just a dollar, meaning it could be a cheap way to get your hands on the upcoming title.
For the past few years, 343 Industries has been busy building a new engine for Halo Infinite. Lee claims that the new engine \u201cempowers [the] creative teams to reach detail and performance no Halo has ever delivered\u201d and that it will let them capture \u201cintimate stories like the moments [witnessed] in Discover Hope.\u201d
The visuals we\u2019ve seen so far are all from this new engine, but we\u2019ve yet to see actual gameplay of Halo Infinite in action. Regardless, the visuals seem to be a big step forward for the Halo franchise. Players on both console and PC should be happy with the new art direction of Infinite.
One of the biggest worries of any release these days is that it will be bogged down with microtransactions and loot boxes. It seems likely that Halo Infinite will include some form of microtransactions \u2014 the specifics of which are still unclear \u2014 but it will not feature \u201creal-money loot boxes.\u201d
From the look of things, Halo Infinite won\u2019t have a typical beta. Community manager John Junyszek posted a blog late last year mentioning Flighting Programs, which will be small testing programs that work in a fashion similar to those for Halo: Master Chief Collection. Anyone interested in learning more should sign up for the Halo Insider program, where they can register for a chance to partake in the Flighting Program.
Updated on July 16,2020: Added teaser from Xbox\u2019s Twitter account.
Updated on July 21,2020: Added gameplay details.
Updated on July 23,2020: Added gameplay reveal and interview details.
Updated on July 29,2020: Added details about multiplayer\u2019s inclusion at launch.
Updated on July 31,2020: Added graphics and presentation details, LAN\u2019s inclusion, and difficulties.<\/p>\n