Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite is a first-person shooter developed by 343 Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the sixth main entry in the Halo series and follows Halo 5: Guardians from 2015. The campaign launched on December 8, 2021, for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, while the multiplayer side arrived a few weeks earlier as a free-to-play open beta on November 15, 2021, timed to the 20th anniversary of the franchise.

The story takes place in 2560 on Zeta Halo, a damaged Forerunner ringworld also known as Installation 07. After the AI Cortana turned against the United Nations Space Command, a mercenary group called the Banished, made up of aliens and humans, has seized the ring. Master Chief, a Spartan supersoldier, is recovered drifting in space six months after a defeat at the hands of the Banished leader Atriox. Working alongside a UNSC pilot and a new AI known as the Weapon, he fights the Banished commander Escharum and confronts the Harbinger, an alien seeking to free a people called the Endless.

The campaign uses a semi-open structure in which parts of Zeta Halo can be explored freely. Players capture Forward Operating Bases that act as fast-travel points, take on high-value targets, rescue Marine squads, and destroy propaganda towers. These side tasks earn Valor, which unlocks weapons and vehicles that can be summoned from the bases. Story missions follow a more linear layout, and new tools such as the Grappleshot let Master Chief pull himself toward enemies, grab items, and cross terrain. Audio logs and other collectibles add more background to the plot.

Multiplayer offers modes like deathmatch and capture the flag in 4v4 matches and in Big Team Battle, which supports up to 24 players. Ability pickups grant limited uses of powers such as a dash, active camouflage, and a repulsor. A training mode includes weapon drills and practice matches against bots. Players can customize their Spartans with armor, coatings, and weapon models earned in the campaign, through free or paid battle passes, or by purchase. Cross-platform play and shared progression link the Xbox and Windows versions, and a November 2022 update added online campaign co-op and the option to replay missions.

Halo Infinite was revealed at E3 2018 and was planned as a launch title for the Xbox Series X/S, built on the Slipspace Engine. A campaign showing in July 2020 drew criticism for its visuals, and the game was delayed into 2021, with former Bungie writer Joseph Staten joining the project. Its score was composed by Gareth Coker, Curtis Schweitzer, Joel Corelitz, and others. Critics gave it generally favorable reviews and singled out its open world design, gameplay, visuals, and music, Game Informer named it Game of the Year, and the game had passed 20 million players by January 2022.