Right now, Halo Infinite is 4 years outdated, and that makes me very unhappy. An announcement shared as we speak from the official Halo account on X was meant to be celebratory, however I discovered it miserable. How will you really feel optimistic about Halo in 2025?
4 years of Infinite recollections, Infinite friendships, Infinite enjoyable 🎂
Joyful birthday, Halo Infinite! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/7gxwl6ZVhH
— Halo (@Halo) December 8, 2025
Halo Infinite is the newest entry within the iconic Xbox franchise, and it was predictably puffed up earlier than launch. Its open-world marketing campaign provided a novel tackle the franchise method and appeared poised to crack open the Halo universe, with plans for it to be the central hub of latest Halo content material for years after its launch. However as its launch date crept nearer, the sixth mainline entry within the Grasp Chief saga strained beneath the strain. A 2020 gameplay reveal unintentionally created a meme factory, and a month later, Halo Infinite was delayed.
Halo Infinite lastly launched in December 2021 (although the multiplayer launched a couple of weeks earlier), and did so with out split-screen co-op and Forge, the collection’ map creation suite. Halo Studios (previously 343 Industries) by no means added the extra story content material we had been promised—as a substitute, it’ll be neatly tied up in a book releasing next week. I held out hope that Infinite would ultimately turn out to be the large Grasp Chief universe we had been promised, but it surely by no means did.
Simply final month, it was introduced that the studio would cease development on the sci-fi shooter, shortly after Halo: Campaign Evolved, a ground-up remake of the original game’s campaign, was revealed.
Although there are, reportedly, different Halo video games in improvement at Halo Studios, the present state of the franchise is an enormous bummer. Marketing campaign Developed, due out subsequent yr, might deliver Halo to PS5 for the primary time, and it could look rattling good, however everyone knows it’s only a nostalgia retread of a 25-year-old sport. It received’t embody multiplayer, simply the primary sport’s marketing campaign and some new missions. It’s going to provide four-person co-op for the primary time ever. However except for Marketing campaign Developed, there’s no information on what to anticipate subsequent from Halo Studios.
So we return to Infinite, the newest sport within the franchise. Sadly, Infinite’s open-world marketing campaign will not be value a revisit, particularly with out sofa co-op or a continuation of Grasp Chief’s story (the story DLC was confirmed canned back in 2023). Infinite’s multiplayer has that Halo particular sauce—it feels nice and generally is a chaotic blast, however there simply aren’t that many individuals taking part in anymore. So should you’re like me and solely play a handful of modes, you’ll shortly end up caught in a loop: the identical few maps, the identical few gamers. You’ll be able to solely get sniped throughout one of some Large Staff Battle maps by EliteLover6969 so many occasions earlier than it grows outdated.
Plus, Xbox’s current refusal to sentence the White House’s use of Halo imagery in its spate of racist propaganda additional sours the style in my mouth.
Halo is the franchise that shifted my gaming world, taking me from an informal gamer taking part in at her cousin’s home to a younger lady shopping for an Xbox 360 and Halo 3 on launch day so I may proceed the story by myself. I hope it may well discover its footing as soon as extra, however on the fourth anniversary of Halo Infinite, I’m mourning what may have been reasonably than celebrating what we received.
