Halo Infinite marks a big change to the Halo franchise. It’s the first mainline Halo game to drop a number in the title, it marks the true return of Master Chief, and it’s going to usher in a brand-new Xbox console later this year – as only a Halo game really can.
Halo Infinite was one of the biggest announcements of Microsoft’s briefing at E3 2018, and it was a similar story at E3 2019 too – though other than those two trailer drops the company has kept fairly quiet on the game so far.
We know we’ll get our first look at gameplay during the first-party Xbox Series X games reveal on Inside Xbox in July 2020 though, so it’s not long to wait until we find out more.
When is Halo Infinite coming out?
Halo Infinite is officially set to come out in ‘Holiday 2020’ – the same release window as the upcoming Xbox Series X, as it’s expected to be a launch title for the next-generation console. That means you should expect it a little before Christmas.
What platforms will Halo Infinite be on?
As you might expect, Halo Infinite is an Xbox exclusive in the console world (on both Xbox One and the upcoming Xbox Series X) but you’ll also be able to play it on Windows 10 PCs. It would presumably also launch on the much-rumoured cheaper Xbox Series S if that turns out to be real.
Watch the trailers
We’ve only had a few trailers for Halo Infinite so far, starting with the rather vague announcement trailer from E3 2018:
We got a lengthier look at the game at E3 2019, that gives us more of an idea of what to expect from Halo Infinite:
Then most cryptic of all is this brief teaser of a Banished transmission, dropped just ahead of the planned July gameplay reveal:
What will Halo Infinite be like?
There are only a few details about Halo Infinite at the moment but here’s what we know so far. Microsoft has confirmed that it will tell us more – and show off the first gameplay – during the Inside Xbox stream in July 2020, so don’t expect to hear much more until then.
For starters, it’s being developed by 343 Industries which has been making Halo games since Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in 2011.
Halo Infinite will focus on the Master Chief and continue his saga after the events of Halo 5. In the trailer above, you can see him plug a small card into the back of his helmet which most likely contains Cortana.
We also know that the new Halo game will be built on the new Slipspace Engine which is shown off in the trailer.
“When we started this project, the team’s vision for the game was ambitious – so much so that we knew we had to build new tech to fully realize our goals for Halo Infinite. The E3 demo showcases some of the exciting potential of this technology – everything you see is running in-engine. We still have a long way to go until we ship the game, so things will certainly evolve between now and the release of Halo Infinite, though the engine demo is a clear indication of the direction we are heading with our next game and a great snapshot of where our tech is right now,” said 343 Industries in a blog post.
It’s described as ‘the next chapter of the legendary franchise’ and although there’s not much given away in the trailer, the name might be hinting at an open-world experience.
At least we know it will feature classic vehicles like the Warthog but 343 also said: “We will have some new and unexpected directions to take folks in”
The firm also said that fans will get a chance to play the game while it’s in development.
“In the future, you will be able to join early flighting programs that will let members of the community play the game with us, and give direct feedback, much like the current Insider flighting program for Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It will take some time for us to be ready to kick those flighting events off, but when we do they will start small and grow along the way.”
