Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite is an upcoming first-person shooter game developed by 343 Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.[6][7][8] It is planned to be released in 2021, the sixth main entry of the Halo series,[9] and the fourteenth game overall. It continues the story of the Master Chief as the third chapter of the "Reclaimer Saga",[10] following Halo 5: Guardians (2015).[11][12][13]

"Halo 6" redirects here. For the Nine Inch Nails EP, see Fixed (EP).

Halo Infinite
Box art featuring Master Chief
Developer(s)343 Industries[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Artist(s)Nicolas Bouvier[1]
Composer(s)
SeriesHalo
Platform(s)
Release2021
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gareth Coker, composer for Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, serves as one of Halo Infinite's three composers, alongside Curtis Schweitzer and Joel Corelitz.[14]

Synopsis

According to Microsoft, Master Chief returns in Halo Infinite with "his greatest adventure yet to save humanity".[11][15][16] The storyline of Halo Infinite will be "much more human", with the Master Chief playing a more central role than in Halo 5: Guardians.[17][18] The E3 2018 trailer indicated that the story will be set on a Halo ring and showcased the design of Master Chief's Mark VI armor to return to the design seen in Halo 2 and Halo 3. The Banished, a violent mercenary group that splintered off of the former Covenant alien alliance, are shown to be enemies.

Development

Halo Infinite is being developed by 343 Industries with assistance from Skybox Labs.[19] It will utilize the new Slipspace Engine. The story entered planning stages in 2015.[20] An announcement trailer was released on June 10, 2018.[21] The developer said that all of the scenes in the Halo Infinite trailer were running in the engine.[22][23][24] Halo Infinite will feature split-screen again, in response to the backlash of its removal in the previous game.[25] It was also planned to have a beta prior to its release, described as an insider flight program.[1]

Although initially implicated to be exclusive to the Xbox Series X, development director Frank O'Connor stated in August 2019 that Infinite was being developed for Xbox One. He said they were "building it so it plays and looks fantastic" on the platform, would have enhancements when played on Xbox Series X.[26] 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.[27] Development was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing developers to work from home.[28]

After the Xbox Games Showcase on July 23, 2020, 343 Studio Head Chris Lee stated that a public beta is unlikely due to the impact of the ongoing pandemic,[29][30] despite Microsoft stating at E3 2018 that there would be a public beta ahead of launch.[31]

On July 31, 2020, it was announced that the game's multiplayer portion would be released as a free-to-play game.[32]

On August 11, 2020, it was announced that the game has been delayed until 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting development.[33]

Marketing

On May 7, 2020, as a substitute for the cancelled E3 2020, Microsoft announced it would reveal the first gameplay footage of Halo Infinite via livestream to the public on July 23, 2020, among other games from its first-party studios for Xbox.[34] On June 24, 2020, the official Halo YouTube channel premiered a short video titled "SIGNAL DETECTED. TAG DESIGNATION: FOE",[35] which featured an audio clip of an anonymous character who represents the Banished, a faction introduced in Halo Wars 2. It is speculated that this video is in fact a teaser for Halo Infinite and reveals that the Banished will be featured as an enemy force which the player must fight.[36]

Following the gameplay reveal for Halo Infinite on July 23, 2020, publications and audiences expressed disappointment towards the standard of the game's graphics and performance.[37] 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."[38] Aaron Greenberg, general manager of Xbox marketing, responded to concerns in an interview with Inside Gaming, saying "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 further stated that the final version of the game would be a "visual showcase."[39][40] 343 Industries later outlined that the game would receive a free ray tracing update post-launch.[41] 343 Industries 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."[42]

A screenshot of the gameplay showing one of the enemy Brutes with a deadpan expression, given the moniker "Craig" by internet commenters, became an internet meme, with 343 Industries' community director embracing it.[43]

References
Notes
  1. Additional work by Skybox Labs and Sperasoft
References
  1. 343 Industries (June 10, 2018). "Our Journey Begins". Halo - Official Site. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  2. 343 Industries (June 9, 2018). "Discover Hope". Halo - Official Site. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  3. https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/campaign-evolved
  4. https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/gareth-coker-sets-a-fire-in-your-heart
  5. https://www.polygon.com/xbox-scarlett/2019/12/16/21025133/xbox-series-x-name-scarlett
  6. Gilliam, Ryan (June 10, 2018). "Halo Infinite brings the series back to PC". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  7. Sato (June 10, 2018). "Halo Infinite Announced For Xbox One, Developed By 343 Industries". Siliconera. Curse. Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  8. Hernandez, Patricia (June 9, 2019). "Halo Infinite is a 'spiritual reboot'". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  9. Tassi, Paul (August 16, 2018). "Microsoft Confirms That Yes, 'Halo: Infinite' Is Actually Just 'Halo 6'". Forbes. Forbes Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019. ‘It is Halo 6,’ said 343’s Jeff Easterling during a Mixer stream ... ‘You should just consider it Halo 6. Don't think of it as a weird prequel kind of thing. It's the next story. It's the next chapter in what is going on.’
  10. Tatch, Dave (June 21, 2013). "Halo's Reclaimer Trilogy expanded into a 'more of saga'". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. ‘While we originally said trilogy, we've actually expanded this to more of a saga, so we don't want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy,’ he (Phil Spencer) said.
  11. Prell, Sam (June 10, 2018). "Xbox announces Halo Infinite, which is... um... a new Halo game, question mark?". GamesRadar+. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  12. Lumb, David (June 10, 2018). "'Halo Infinite' puts Master Chief back in the fight". Engadget. Verizon Media. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  13. O'Connor, Alice (June 10, 2018). "Halo Infinite announced, returning to PC". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Rock, Paper, Shotgun Ltd. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  14. https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/gareth-coker-sets-a-fire-in-your-heart
  15. Wales, Matt (June 10, 2018). "Microsoft reveals Halo Infinite". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  16. Minotti, Mike (June 10, 2018). "Halo: Infinite starts Microsoft's E3 show". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on June 10, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  17. Palumbo, Alessio (April 25, 2017). "343i Acknowledges Halo 5 Storytelling Mistake, Will Double Down on Master Chief Focus". Wccftech. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  18. Peckham, Matt (October 29, 2015). "Halo's Frank O'Connor Reacts to Criticism of Halo 5". Time. Time USA. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  19. Makuch, Eddie (July 27, 2018). "Halo Infinite Adds A Co-Developer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  20. Hurley, Leon (September 25, 2015). "343 has started on Halo 6 and knows "whats going to happen 10 years from now"". GamesRadar+. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  21. Halo [@Halo] (June 10, 2018). "The Master Chief returns in #HaloInfinite. Get your first look at the legendary hero in a thrilling new Slipspace Engine demo that provides a glimpse into the future of the franchise. #XboxE3" (Tweet). Retrieved June 10, 2018 – via Twitter.
  22. Kohler, Chris (June 11, 2018). "Microsoft Announces Halo Infinite With Tiny Teaser". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  23. Lemon, Marshall (June 10, 2018). "Halo Infinite will take the franchise in new directions". VG247. videogaming247. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  24. Romano, Sal (June 10, 2018). "Halo Infinite announced for Xbox One, Windows 10". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  25. Wakeling, Richard (June 11, 2019). "E3 2019: Halo Infinite Has Split-Screen, Microsoft Reaffirms". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  26. "Halo Infinite's Xbox One Version Won't Be 'Second-Class' Says Halo Boss", IGN, retrieved January 11, 2020
  27. Sarkar, Samit (January 10, 2020). "Microsoft promises Xbox Series X games will also play on Xbox One — for now". Polygon. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  28. Makuch, Eddie (March 25, 2020). "Halo Infinite developer talks about Impact of Coronavirus on the game". Gamespot. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  29. "Halo Infinite public beta unlikely admits Microsoft". Metro News. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  30. "Halo Infinite's Planned Public Beta Testing May Not Happen". IGN. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  31. "Halo Infinite public beta may not happen, according to 343 Industries". GamesRadar. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  32. https://www.ign.com/articles/halo-infinite-multiplayer-is-free-to-play-343-confirms
  33. "https://twitter.com/halo/status/1293261002037841920". Twitter. Retrieved August 11, 2020. External link in |title= (help)
  34. "First games for Xbox Series X console revealed". BBC News. May 7, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  35. "SIGNAL DETECTED. TAG DESIGNATION: FOE". www.youtube.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  36. Goslin, Austen (June 24, 2020). "Halo Infinite teaser suggests The Banished enemies". Polygon. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  37. "Halo Infinite Xbox Series X trailer divides fans". BBC News. July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  38. "We should talk about how Halo Infinite looks". Eurogamer. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  39. "Halo Infinite will be a "visual showcase" for Xbox Series X, says Microsoft". GamesRadar. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  40. "Xbox Fires Back On Halo Infinite's Visuals - IGN Daily Fix". IGN. July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  41. "Halo Infinite will get a free ray tracing update after launch". Windows Central. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  42. "Halo Infinite Developer Responds To Criticisms Of The Game". Gamespot. July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  43. "Give A Warm Welcome To Craig, Halo Infinite's 343-Approved Brute Meme". Gamespot. July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
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