Halo Infinite is a 2021 first-person shooter game developed by 343

Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the sixth mainline

entry in the Halo series, following Halo 5: Guardians (2015).

The campaign follows the human supersoldier Master Chief and his
fight against the enemy Banished on the Forerunner ringworld Zeta
Halo, also known as Installation 07. Unlike previous installments in the
series, the multiplayer portion of the game is free-to-play.

The game was intended to release as a launch title for the Xbox Series
X/S, but was delayed in August 2020 after Infinite's gameplay reveal in
July 2020 drew negative feedback from both critics and Halo fans.
Following an open beta release of the multiplayer component on
November 15, 2021, coinciding with the franchise's 20th anniversary,
the campaign was released for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
on December 8, 2021.

Halo Infinite received generally favorable reviews from critics, with

some deeming the game a return to form for the series. Praise was
directed towards its visuals, gameplay, open world design, soundtrack,
and story.

== Gameplay ==

Halo Infinite is a first-person shooter. In the game's story mode,

players assume the role of player character Master Chief, as he wages
a war against the Banished, an alien faction. Players traverse the open
world Zeta Halo, fighting the Banished with a mixture of vehicles and
weapons. Players also have access to special equipment, such as the
Grappleshot, which pulls Chief towards foes or retrieves items.The
campaign mode's semi-open world structure allows players to freely
explore parts of the ring-world Zeta Halo setting, which are segmented
off from each other and initially impassable. Scattered across the
environment are Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), which can be
captured once cleared of enemies. Captured bases serve as fast-travel
points. Other points of interest found across Zeta Halo's surface
include "high-value targets" to eliminate, Marine squads to rescue, and
Banished propaganda towers to destroy. Completing these side
objectives earns the player Valor, which is used to earn weapons and
vehicles that players can call in from FOBs. The more linear
environments within the ring's surface hew more to traditional Halo
mission design. These "dungeons" advance the story, and cannot be
replayed once completed. Collectibles found in the environment, such
as audio logs, provide additional story details. The campaign was
updated later on, giving the player the choice to replay old missions via
the in-game TACMAP.Infinite's multiplayer component features
deathmatch, capture the flag, and other modes played in standard
4-versus-4 and Big Team Battle variants; the latter bumps the player
count in matches up to 24. Ability pickups allow players to activate
special powers a limited number of times. Powers include dashing,
active camouflage, and "repulsor" charges that can knock enemies,
projectiles, and vehicles back. A training mode allows new players to
test weapons in weapon drills, or play against computer-controlled bot
players in practice matches.

== Synopsis ==

=== Setting and characters ===

Halo Infinite is set in the year 2560. During the events of Halo 5:
Guardians, the human artificial intelligence Cortana and allied artificial
intelligences (AIs) rebel against their creators, the United Nations
Space Command (UNSC). Taking control of ancient Forerunner weapons
known as Guardians, Cortana subjugates the galaxy. Also fighting
against Cortana and the UNSC are the Banished, a mercenary
organization composed of aliens and humans led by the Brute Atriox.
The game is set on the Forerunner ringworld Installation 07 (Zeta Halo),
which has mysteriously suffered damage. The player character, Master
Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a UNSC "Spartan" supersoldier on a
mission to neutralize Cortana, his former partner.In addition to the
narrative told in the campaign, Halo Infinite's multiplayer component
features a seasonal story that centers on Spartan Commander
Laurette Agryna's efforts to lead a new generation of Spartan
supersoldiers in the aftermath of Cortana's attacks on various UNSC
military strongholds.

=== Plot ===

==== Campaign ====

In December 2559, the UNSC ship Infinity arrives at Halo Installation 07.
Upon arrival, the ship is ambushed by several dreadnoughts that are
operated by the Banished. While defending the ship's hangar bay from
multiple raiding parties, the Master Chief is caught off-guard by Atriox,
the leader of the Banished, and is subsequently defeated in a
one-on-one duel. Atriox throws the Chief from the edge of the hangar
bay, leaving him stranded in space.

Six months later, a UNSC pilot recovers the Chief adrift in space. While
the Pilot wants to flee, Master Chief insists on continuing the fight
against the Banished. The Chief and Pilot travel to Zeta Halo, which has
been severely damaged by an unknown calamity. On the ring, Master
Chief locates the Weapon, an AI designed to imitate Cortana in order to
capture her for deletion. While the Weapon states that she was
successful in her mission, she has failed to self-delete as per her
directives. Master Chief retrieves the Weapon, and experiences visions
of Cortana's memories and thoughts left as residual data.

Zeta Halo is controlled by the Banished, now led by Atriox's lieutenant

Escharum after Atriox's apparent death. The dying Brute is invigorated
to have Master Chief as his final opponent. Master Chief, the Weapon,
and a reluctant Pilot rally scattered UNSC forces on the ring's surface,
while looking for any Spartans that haven't been picked off by The Hand
of Atriox, Escharum’s team of Spartan killers. Inside the Forerunner
installation known as the Conservatory, Master Chief encounters
Despondent Pyre, the AI caretaker of Zeta Halo. Despondent Pyre
attempts to warn Master Chief of a threat contained on the installation,
but is destroyed by the Harbinger, an alien awoken by the Banished. The
Harbinger claims that her people, the Endless, were imprisoned by the
Forerunners on Zeta Halo. She has allied herself with the Banished in
order to rebuild the Silent Auditorium, a facility that will allow her to
free her people. The Banished, in turn, will use the repaired Halo as a
weapon against humanity.

Master Chief defends the pilot from a duo of Spartan killers deployed by
Escharum. The Pilot reveals that he was a civilian engineer aboard
Infinity who stole a Pelican to flee the battle. The Chief comforts him,
admitting his own guilt over his failure to save Cortana. Master Chief
and the Weapon stop Zeta Halo's repair process by disabling a series of
spires on the ring, but are unable to stop a section of the Auditorium
from being rebuilt. When the Harbinger attempts to hack the Weapon,
the Chief activates a failsafe to delete the AI. The Weapon repels the
Harbinger and deactivates the failsafe, angrily asking why Master Chief
does not trust her. After seeing a vision in which Cortana uses the
Guardians to destroy the Brutes' home planet of Doisac, the Weapon
realizes that she is a copy of Cortana, and insists that Master Chief
delete her so she does not become like her predecessor; Master Chief
refuses, stating that he wants to trust her. The Pilot is captured by Jega
'Rdomnai, an Elite Spartan killer and a close friend of Escharum, as bait
for Master Chief. Unwilling to let the Pilot die, Master Chief infiltrates
the Banished facility and saves him, killing Jega 'Rdomnai and Escharum
in the process.

Master Chief and the Weapon rush to the Auditorium to stop the
Harbinger. The two learn that Cortana was captured by Atriox after the
Weapon locked her down; upon realizing that Atriox intended to access
the ring's secrets, Cortana destroyed herself, damaged Zeta Halo, and
prevented the Weapon from being deleted. In a recorded message,
Cortana says goodbye to the Chief and encourages him to work with the
Weapon. The Chief defeats the Harbinger, but is unable to stop her from
contacting someone regarding the Endless. Afterwards, the Weapon
and Chief reunite with the Pilot, who reveals his name is Fernando
Esparza. The Weapon decides to choose a name for herself.

In a post-credits scene, an alive Atriox uses a key to unlock a sealed

door, leading to the Endless. If the game is finished on Legendary
difficulty, the scene features dialogue between Despondent Pyre and a
Forerunner official about the imprisonment of the Endless. When
Despondent Pyre states that she cannot oversee the study of the
Endless alone, the Forerunner replies that the AI Offensive Bias has
been deployed to assist her.

==== Multiplayer ====

In late 2552, during the battle for Earth, the Covenant occupy the
centre of London. While Covenant patrols scout the city in search for
surviving humans, a young woman, named Laurette Agryna, sneaks
around the city streets and attempts to evade the patrols. She is
spotted by a pack of Brutes, but is saved by a group of Spartans. Agryna
later joins the UNSC military and eventually goes on to join the
Spartan-IV program. Seven years after the fall of the Covenant, in the
wake of Cortana's attack on Laconia Station and the disappearance of
both the Master Chief and the UNSC Infinity, Agryna—now serving as a
Spartan Commander—begins training a new generation of Spartans and
establishes new training facilities on classified frontier worlds, such
as the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science.

Some time after the establishment of the Academy, Spartans Sigrid

Eklund and Hieu Dinh discover that an old UNSC fleet depot, located on
the planet Camber, has been repurposed by the Banished to serve as a
shipbreaking yard. After observing their activity for two days, the
Spartans learn that the Banished have successfully created their own
AI construct. The AI, named Iratus, detects Eklund and Dinh's presence
in the yard and alerts the Banished, forcing the duo to hijack a Banished
Phantom in order to escape. Iratus, however, follows them and
attempts to lock down the Phantom's flight controls. In order to regain
access to the flight controls, Dinh allows Iratus to infect his neural
interface, leaving him unconscious. After returning to the Academy,
Eklund informs Agryna of their encounter with the Banished. Agryna
devises a plan to pull Iratus out of Dinh's neural interface and trap him
on the Academy's servers. Meanwhile, Iratus attempts to break Dinh by
forcing him to relive his memories of Operation: Interior Exile—a
botched UNSC attempt to secure Forerunner artifacts that resulted in
numerous deaths. Agryna's plan eventually succeeds and Iratus, along
with a complete archive of the Banished's operations on Camber, is
secured, saving Dinh's life in the process.

After the capture of Iratus, Eklund and Dinh choose to remain at the
Academy, while Agryna prepares for a larger conflict with the
Banished. While practicing at the Academy's firing range, Eklund
expresses her concerns over Dinh's state of mind after the incident on
Camber, but Dinh assures her that she and Agryna have nothing to
worry about. Eklund introduces Dinh to one of the Academy's newly
recruited Spartans, noting their role in the actions that saved Dinh's
life. Dinh thanks the Spartan for their efforts and briefly reflects on his
own military training at the Academy. Meanwhile, during a War Games
session at the Academy, a detonation of a stray frag grenade scrapes
the paint of a door named BLDG-09, revealing that the paint was
covering the seal of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Some time
later, Dinh and the Spartan recruit discover the door's markings and
open it, revealing an entry point to a secret ONI base, built at the
beginning of the Human-Covenant War. Dinh reveals that he received his
first set of Spartan armor at the base, before realizing that Iratus may
have been attempting to learn the location of the ONI base from him.
Moments later, Iratus hijacks the base's power systems; he declares
that the base's secrets now belong to the Banished and takes control of
a set of SPI armor.

== Development ==

Developer 343 Industries produced Halo 4 (2012) and Halo 5: Guardians

(2015) as part of the "Reclaimer Saga", a series of games initially
planned as a trilogy. Halo Infinite was developed by 343 Industries with
assistance from SkyBox Labs, Sperasoft, The Coalition, Certain Affinity
and Atomhawk.The studio played with the idea of making Halo an open
world game, drawing inspiration from other video games such as The
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with the idea of allowing to explore
a large open area, with the freedom of completing the game in any
order.While reception to Halo 5 was overall positive, the campaign
received criticism for not including enough of Master Chief; 343
Industries promised to refocus on the character going forward.It
utilizes the new Slipspace Engine. The game was written by Paul
Crocker, who was also associate creative director of the campaign.
Justin Dinges and Nicolas Bouvier were chosen as artists. The
multiplayer component of the game was directed by Tom French,
Associate Creative Director of multiplayer, and Pierre Hintze, Project
Lead and Partner Head of multiplayer. The tools used for the Slipspace
Engine used basic development tools called Faber. Some parts of Faber
dated back to the early 2000s, having also been used for Bungie's Halo
games. As a result, its coding became notoriously difficult to use by
343 Industries, being considered technical debt. 343 Industries had
also excessively relied on hiring contract workers to the point of
making up half the studio according to estimates. Due to Microsoft's
policy that limits contract workers to keep their jobs for up to 18
months, the number of workers at 343 Industries gradually fell.Halo
Infinite was beset by further issues during development. The game
suffered from creative instability for some time; the studio was
described to be split into "fiefdoms", and that the struggle to complete
the game and the conflicting decisions resulted in "four or five games
being developed simultaneously." Two-thirds of the planned game was
cut by summer 2019, which severely removed some of the initial vision.
Despite this, the planned deadline of November 2020 to be a launch
game for the Xbox Series X/S was decided to be impossible to meet.
Development director Frank O'Connor stated in August 2019 that Halo
Infinite was being built "so it plays and looks fantastic" on Xbox One, but
would have enhancements when played on Xbox Series X/S.The gameplay
reveal on July 23, 2020, saw criticism from the gaming community for
the game's visual quality, which saw further changes to development.
On August 27, 2020, 343 Industries announced that Joseph Staten, the
former lead writer and cinematic director of the Halo series at Bungie,
had joined as Campaign Project Lead for Halo Infinite. 343 Industries
later announced that Staten's role had changed to Head of Creative for
Halo Infinite. Staten had convinced Microsoft to delay the game to 2021
in order to release a stable launch. He had provided a list of reasons
why the game would be better if the deadline was pushed. When the
game was delayed, features were added and improved, including the
graphics. On October 28, 2020, Bloomberg News reported that (now
former) Studio Head Chris Lee had departed the project.Halo Infinite
was intended to have split-screen campaign co-op in response to the
backlash of its removal in Halo 5: Guardians, but the feature was
delayed several times and was ultimately cancelled by September 2022.
The game supports both cross-platform play and cross-platform save
progression between Xbox and Windows versions. Campaign network
co-op was eventually included as part of the Winter Update in November
2022 along with several other features, including the ability to replay
old missions via the in-game TACMAP.

=== Music ===

The music for Halo Infinite is a collaboration between Gareth Coker,

Curtis Schweitzer, Joel Corelitz, Alex Bhore, and Eternal Time & Space,
overseen by 343 Industries Music Supervisor Joel Yarger. Infinite's
soundtrack was released digitally on December 8, 2021 in two albums,
one covering the score for the campaign, and another covering the
music for the game's multiplayer component.

== Release ==

Halo Infinite was announced in a trailer at E3 2018 with its release

confirmed, at the time, for Xbox One and Windows. The developer said
that all of the scenes in the trailer were running in-engine. During E3
2018 it was confirmed that Infinite was planned to have a beta prior to
its release, described as an insider flight program.At E3 2019 the
following year, Halo Infinite was confirmed that it would be a launch
game for the next-generation Xbox consoles. In January 2020, Xbox
Game Studios head Matt Booty confirmed that the studio had no
immediate plans for Xbox Series X exclusives at launch, preferring to
phase out compatibility with older hardware over a longer period,
similar to PCs. The COVID-19 pandemic forced developers to remote
work. After the Xbox Games Showcase on July 23, 2020, 343 Studio
Head Chris Lee stated that a public beta was unlikely due to the impact
of the ongoing pandemic, despite Microsoft stating at E3 2018 that
there would be a public beta ahead of launch. 343 Industries said that
the game would receive a free ray tracing update post-launch. On July
31, 2020, it was announced that the game's multiplayer portion would
be released as a free-to-play game.On August 11, 2020, it was
announced that the game had been delayed to an undefined date in 2021,
due to a range of factors impacting development, including the
COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft initially planned to split the game into
several parts but ultimately decided against it. It was reported that 343
Industries was heavily outsourcing the game to external developers,
resulting in development troubles, and was a contributing factor to the
delay. Speaking to IGN, a spokesperson for 343 Industries denied that
the Halo TV show was having an impact on Halo Infinite's development,
but IGN stated that "the spokesperson did not speak to the report's
claim that 'a significant portion of the game is being outsourced to
third-party contractors.'"In December 2020, 343 Industries
announced Halo Infinite would be released in late 2021, later giving a
December 8, 2021, release date.A technical test for the multiplayer
portion of the game ran from July 29 – August 2, 2021, where select
members of the Halo Insider Program could compete in teams across
three maps against bots in 4v4 Slayer mode. On August 20, 2021, it was
announced that the game would be launching without campaign co-op, a
longtime feature of the series. It was also announced that Forge, a
creative environment where players could design their own maps and
gametypes, would not be available at launch. On August 25, 2021,
Infinite was announced to be releasing on December 8, 2021. Additional
testing "flights" ran September 23–26 and September 30 – October 3,
with the first round centered around 4v4 player-versus-player
multiplayer, and the second introducing 12v12 Big Team Battle on the
larger map Fragmentation. 343 used player feedback during the flights
to make changes to the game before release.On October 25, 2021, 343
Industries published a video depicting the game's campaign mode for
the first time since its initial panned debut in July 2020; the footage
offers a first look into several previously untold aspects of the mode's
gameplay and plot.On November 15, 2021, an open beta of Halo Infinite's
multiplayer aspect was released on Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series
X/S in celebration of the Xbox and the Halo series' 20th anniversary.
The game was released to manufacturing on November 19, 2021. Halo
Infinite released on December 8, 2021.

=== Marketing ===

As the industry exposition E3 2020 was canceled due to the COVID-19
pandemic, Microsoft revealed the first gameplay footage of Halo
Infinite via livestream. On June 24, 2020, the official Halo YouTube
channel premiered a teaser titled "SIGNAL DETECTED. TAG
DESIGNATION: FOE", which featured an audio clip of an anonymous
character who represents the Banished, a faction introduced in Halo
Wars 2.Among the merchandising tie-ins for the game was Monster
Energy Drink, a "Moa burger"-flavored version of Pringles, and Dr.
Squatch "Spartan Soap". Participants can earn a variety of in-game
weapon skins, player nameplates and weapon emblems. There are also
several augmented reality experiences through Snapchat as part of the
promotion.Coinciding with Infinite's gameplay reveal was a trailer,
"Step Inside", produced by 215 McCann, who had previously worked on
the "Believe" campaign for Halo 3. The spot, showing Master Chief's
armor being made, was the kickoff to a wider campaign, "Become",
which focused on how the events of the games are shaped by ordinary
people in the Halo universe.At E3 2021, Microsoft unveiled two new
trailers for the game, one showcasing the multiplayer campaign and the
other a general story trailer.On August 25, 2021, a CGI trailer for the
first season of Infinite's multiplayer mode was released, focusing on
the backstory of the new character Commander Agryna in an occupied
London.Microsoft created an Infinite-themed console and Elite
Wireless Controller to tie in with the game's release. Other tie-in
hardware included hard drives, keyboards, mice, and a limited number
of Halo-themed Radeon RX 6900 graphics processing units.

== Reception ==

=== Pre-release ===

Following the campaign gameplay reveal for Halo Infinite on July 23,
2020, publications and audiences expressed disappointment over the
graphics and performance. Eurogamer wrote that "Halo Infinite looks
like the fake plastic trees version of Halo, like a video game designed
with Mega Bloks in mind. It pops in all the wrong places. [...] It doesn't
feel grounded. It doesn't feel like it has depth. It feels, well, surface
level, smooth and uninteresting." Aaron Greenberg, general manager
of Xbox marketing, responded in an interview with Inside Gaming:
"Listen, we're in the middle of a global pandemic. It's July, we're far
from [launch in] Holiday, you're seeing a work-in-progress game." He
said that the final game would be a "visual showcase". Narrative
experience director Dan Chosich tweeted: "I want you to know your
voice matters + is heard [...] I always want to live up to the legacy that
Bungie pioneered. I personally care a lot about honoring that."A
screenshot of the gameplay showing an attacking Brute with a deadpan
expression, given the moniker "Craig" by internet commenters, became
an internet meme, and was embraced by 343 Industries' community
director Brian Jarrard. When 343 Industries released improved
gameplay videos closer to Halo Infinite's release, they included shots
that purposely showed an improvement in visuals and appearance of
"Craig", which character and combat director Steve Dyck and
character art lead Bryan Repka considered a "glow-up", and that the
community response to "Craig" was "one of the factors in gaining some
more time to finish work and get Brutes to a place where the team is
happy with them". A reference to "Craig" in the form of an Easter egg
was added to Halo Infinite's campaign.In October 2020, 343 Industries
announced changes to the player color system in Infinite, replacing the
system of primary and secondary colors in past Halo games with
"coatings" based on layers of patterns and markings designed to
enable "greater player expression". 343 plans to make coatings
available through microtransactions as well as rewards for purchasing
tie-in products such as Monster Energy drinks, Mondelez-branded
snacks, and other items. The plan was received negatively, with fans
and critics expressing concern about the impact of microtransactions.
343 Industries' community manager John Junyszek defended the
system, stating that it enabled "greater detail and variation" and that
other methods of obtaining coatings would be made available as
"special rewards" in addition to paid purchases.In contrast to the
game's initial gameplay reveal, Halo Infinite's multiplayer beta release
in August 2021 received praise, particularly for its gameplay
improvements. The multiplayer's Battle Pass system, however, received
criticism for its slow progression; in response, 343 adjusted the battle
pass progression to speed up progress.
=== Critical reception ===

Halo Infinite received "generally favorable" reviews, according to

review aggregator Metacritic. GamesRadar summarized it by saying
"Halo as you've never seen it before" and Eurogamer called the release
of Halo Infinite in the series "the best it's been in a decade".TechRadar
wrote Halo Infinite was "a triumph", saying "From its captivating story
to its liberating gameplay, developer 343 Industries has created a
campaign that will resonate with veteran Halo fans and inspire a new
generation of players." IGN believed the Halo series to still belong
amongst the best shooter games, especially praising Halo Infinite's
single-player campaign and multiplayer, though considered the
rewards gained in the latter's Battle Pass to be lackluster. The game's
use of open world design and greater player freedom in certain areas
received particular praise from others. Additionally, GameSpot editor
Jordan Ramée praised the game's new grappleshot feature and
rewarding single-player progression system.PCMag complimented the
soundtrack for providing "a mix of atmospheric exploration music,
thrilling combat tracks, and songs and compositions that exist
somewhere in between". PCGamesN praised the feel of each gun and
engaging variety of the arsenal, saying "switching to the plasma rifle to
knock the shield off a Jackal and then back to the VK78 Commando to
get a snappy headshot never gets old". While praising the combat, PC
Gamer were mixed on the level design of "lush forests, valleys and
marine-rescue setup", finding it strongly evoked the mission Halo from
Combat Evolved, but felt inferior to "the timeless design of The Silent
Cartographer, or even Halo 3's less-fondly remembered meat labyrinth,
Cortana". Rock Paper Shotgun liked the world design, but criticized the
plot as being held back by prior entries, "Infinite's story is still
ankle-clamped by the overindulgence of its predecessors, even though
it does what it can to shrink things down into a tighter, more coherent
spacetale".The game was selected by Game Informer as their Game of
the Year.By January 2022, the game crossed the 20 million player
mark.

=== Accolades ===

== Notes ==

== References ==

== External links ==

Official website at Halo Waypoint

Halo Infinite on Halopedia, the Halo wiki