About the Game
Campaign:
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.
With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you can relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.
To experience the campaign, purchase Halo Infinite (Campaign).
Free-to-Play Multiplayer:
Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.
Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
Forge Beta:
Halo’s legendary content creation tool is more powerful than ever with advanced features like a sophisticated visual scripting engine, mode editor, object scaling, lighting and audio tools as well as marked improvements in fidelity and object budget limits.
Forge also includes the powerful AI Toolkit, allowing players to add campaign AI to their creations. Whether it’s remaking iconic experiences from previous Halo entries or creating something entirely unique, the possibilities for thrilling custom maps and game modes are infinite. "
Screenshots
12 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
Seconds into your first match of Firefight: Gauntlet, you’ll understand the name.
This deviously difficult PvE mode introduces upgradeable attributes, elimination objectives, and auto-scaled difficulty settings to a boss-filled Firefight experience designed to challenge even the toughest Spartans.
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Bring your mightiest warriors, because each phase of the Gauntlet is harder than the last.
SLAY TO SURVIVE
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/21eb9f6495c9518ee14d869e058cb7523420ed66.jpg"][img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/17df6d8cca0b412aa6b6a4d0e69eddcbfafcb3bd.jpg"]As endless enemies rush from all sides, your team’s only hope is to eliminate the bosses in each arena to halt their reinforcements and progress to the next encounter.
Combat ranges through five maps connected by a supply area where you can gather ammo and equipment, roll for power weapons, or level up your personal buffs (Speed, Resistance, Regeneration, and Damage) for the onslaught ahead.
Between rounds, you’ll get a chance to upgrade your stats and kit out before the next attack—so make those choices count! Survive five rounds, and victory is yours.
Pro tip: If you can retrieve the Oddball from the Harbinger, bring it back to the supply zone to activate Skull modifiers and boost everyone’s Personal Score during the match.
Gear up, load out, and hold on for dear life. Play Firefight: Gauntlet with up to four players in Halo Infinite’s Firefight playlist now.
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[p align="start"]Upgrade to the Premium Pass at any time to transfer your tier progress from the free Operation Pass and earn your way to eight full sets.[p align="start"]Halo Infinite’s last planned multiplayer update also welcomes permanent progression boosts, new maps, refreshed Ranked Seasons, over 200 never-before-seen customizations arriving in The Exchange, and more![p align="start"]Steady on, Spartan. The future is Infinite.OPERATION PASS
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The missions may change, but these Operation Passes are here to stay. Operation: Infinite’s 100-tier Operation Passes have no expiration date, meaning their armor sets, customizations, and Spartan Points can be earned at any time.
[p align="start"]Likewise, the 100-tier Premium Pass—offering five exclusive armor sets, instant unlocks, and a heroic assortment of Spartan customizations—can be purchased indefinitely.FREE OPERATION PASS
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[p align="start"]Three new armor sets await in Operation: Infinite’s free Operation Pass. Complete all 100 tiers at your leisure to unlock the Serpin, Seeker, and Adamant armor sets, plus a champion’s purse of coatings, rewards, and Spartan customizations.As you complete all 100 tiers, you’ll also unlock the Questing Sky, Celestite Sparkle, Unbroken Defender, and Silent Snow armor coatings, Icicle Falls visor, Blackened Steel weapon coating, and the terminally chill Respect stance.
[p align="start"]See all armor sets in the Operation: Infinite preview.PREMIUM OPERATION PASS
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[p align="start"]The 100-tier Premium Operation Pass features five earnable armor sets, six all-new weapon models, instant unlocks, and over 30 Spartan customizations you won’t find anywhere else.Check out our Community Livestream to see all five armor sets and more exclusive customizations only available in Operation: Infinite’s Premium Operation Pass.
[p align="start"]See all armor sets in the Operation: Infinite preview.[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/f0122c4afa1a51a88cb81023a416c699acdb7b0b.png"]
[p align="start"]Upgrade to the Premium Operation Pass to instantly unlock the Charged Quill Shock Rifle weapon model and the Phoenix Gold weapon coating.Operation: Infinite’s Premium Operation Pass can be purchased at any time. Once acquired, you’ll instantly carry over your tier progress from Operation: Infinite’s free Operation Pass and permanently unlock bonus XP and an additional challenge slot.
2 NEW MAPS
[p align="start"]Get tactical in a new Ranked map and cozy up to a festive Husky hideaway just in time for the Halodays!YULETIDE
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[p align="start"]Forged by: Sikamikanico, bullet2thehead9, Whos Blaze[p align="start"]Set in a quiet, alpine village nestled beneath the Northern Lights, Yuletide gift-wraps the warm glow of streetlights, freshly fallen snow, and the aimless smoke of a familiar hearth together in one beautifully serene package—and shatters it with mercilessly merry Husky combat.[p align="start"]Yuletide is available in Husky Raid and Super Husky Raid modes in the Quick Play playlist.VACANCY
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[p align="start"]Forged by: MikRips, Ethan Hibbs[p align="start"]On a quiet square sits the Hotel Kijani, a modest inn baked into its surroundings by years of mid-afternoon heat. Hours after the markets have closed, when the alleyways and busy thoroughfares have emptied, and long shadows begin to grow on the crested archways of this storied city—only then do warriors strafe its scenic courtyards in pursuit of glory.[p align="start"]Vacancy is available in Ranked Arena, Slayer, Doubles, and select rotational modes.PROGRESSION UPDATES
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We’ve updated two core progression mechanics to make playing Halo Infinite more rewarding than ever! Starting today, you’ll earn 2X SP on Daily Challenges and Weekly Ultimate Rewards, and progress twice as fast through Career Ranks thanks to doubled Applied Score multipliers on every matchmaking playlist.
[p align="start"]Check out our Operation: Infinite preview for more details and a rundown on what to expect for the 25th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved.FREE LOG-IN UNLOCK
[p align="start"]As the 25th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved approaches, we look forward to celebrating Halo’s universe, community, and enduring legacy with you throughout next year.[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/86a1eda8647ca36e1ebc32d5aec5d7bed8111459.png"]
[p align="start"]To kick things off, look for a free customization bundle to arrive in January as an instant log-in unlock for all Halo Infinite players, containing all these never-before-released items:25th Anniversary Nameplate
GEN XII Vehicle Coating
Access Denied Armor Coating
Lifegivers Hex Weapon Coating
Ring Breaker Weapon Charm
Zeta Emissary Nameplate
Zeta Trailblazer Nameplate
THE SHOP
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As we bid adieu to four years of Halo Infinite multiplayer updates, the sentimental caretakers of The Shop have forged fitting testaments to three of Halo’s legendary villains—and one fiendish incarnation straight from the Covenant’s nightmares.
DEFIANT BUNDLE
[p align="start"]Prove your legend with the Defiant bundle, featuring arcane weaponry, an exclusive death effect, and armor sets inspired by Halo Infinite’s enigmatic Harbinger and the demoniac Spartan awaiting her beyond the mortal plane.[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/8528ba32d7c10672ed7d3dc93ba1b10d7b7d9e15.png"]
Deimos: First conjured in the Prophets’ sermons of fear, the wrathful silhouette of DEIMOS has now been forged in the heat of glassed cities to deliver absolution as an emblem of humanity’s wrath. Give your foes the horns with the Flawless Sentinel helmet attachment, and add a touch of damnation with the Fiendbane Raiment armor coating.
[p align="start"]Exorcist Mutilator: Cleanse corruption with the holy fire of the Exorcist Mutilator weapon model and the Fiendbane’s Blessing weapon coating.[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/8adfc41b7a26fa43d831715949ee69c64d3a22b7.png"]
When you’re finished hellraising, opt for a greener hue to rock a saintlier look inspired by the Master Chief’s armor in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.
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Sibyl: Emissaries of the Endless don the Sibyl armor set to perceive the truths between spaces and heighten their kinship with the unseen. It has proven uniquely suitable for dispelling Forerunner lies, especially when deployed in harmonic resonance with the Harbinger of Truth armor coating.
[p align="start"]Kylixian Heatwave: The destined weapon of those who whisper truths. Enshroud thy innermost intent in the Final Codex weapon coating, and pay homage to your Xalanyn mistress with the Chibi Harbinger weapon charm.[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/787555b8a568246cc6ddd22e5c8027787f0d2a6a.png"]
Meteor Fall: Pummel your enemies with fiery darts from beyond the stars with the bundle-exclusive Meteor Fall death effect set.
[p align="start"]Defy the odds with the Defiant bundle, containing the Deimos and Sibyl armor sets, Fiendbane Raiment and Harbinger of Truth armor coatings, Exorcist Mutilator and Kylixian Heatwave weapon models, Fiendbane’s Blessing and Final Codex weapon coatings, Chibi Harbinger weapon charm, and the exclusive Meteor Fall death effect set.[p align="start"]Available in The Shop now through January 5, 2026.RECOMPILED FOES
[p align="start"]Two of the Master Chief’s bitterest enemies now play sweetly together in the Recompiled Foes bundle, featuring a tag-team of the Escharum-inspired Dominarch and a Cavalier take on Cortana’s eternal knight from Halo 5: Guardians.[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/0aa36f963bc4ce8f59193bd0468af79361779957.png"]
Dominarch: Gird yourself in the unbroken pride of the Banished! The Dominarch armor set echoes the glory of Escharum, fallen but not forgotten, whose legacy shall live on in awe-struck whispers across a thousand worlds. March to unrelenting war in the Blood and Iron armor coating.
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Hopebreaker Mutilator: Abandon hope, ye down the barrel. The Hopebreaker Mutilator’s burning crest announces its dominion most mightily against the sepulchral hues of the Deliverance Denied weapon coating, or when bearing the immortal leer of the Chibi Escharum weapon charm.
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Cavalier: Echoes of the dead replicate ceaselessly in defense of the Domain, and at the gates proudly stands the Cavalier, ever watchful in its vigil against unworthy lusts for sacred knowledge. Clad in the heraldic Mantle’s Duality armor coating, those who shoulder its timeless burden shall bring all others to kneel.
[p align="start"]Riftwave Heatwave: A precision instrument for unprejudicial composition. Spread the ancient message of your makers with the Promethean Shell weapon coating.[p align="start"]Perfect Decomposition: When will they understand that composition is a mercy? Leave no trace of your foes’ corporeal forms with the bundle-exclusive Perfect Decomposition death effect set.[p align="start"]Join forces with the Recompiled Foes bundle now through January 5, 2026.2026 SHOP CALENDAR
[p align="start"]Customization bundles from past Shop updates and Premium Operation Passes will return in a monthly rotation of remixed bundle configurations throughout 2026. As always, formerly featured premium customizations can be purchased directly through the Armor Hall by previewing an item and visiting its bundle in The Shop.THE EXCHANGE
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We’ve added over 200 never-before-released accessories, coatings, charms, visors, and other Spartan necessities to The Exchange!
[p align="start"]In addition to the four armor bundles commemorating ten years of Halo 5: Guardians, Operation: Infinite’s Exchange drop debuts the earnable Whisper, Lancer, and Dirgesinger armor sets released in the Fall Update.[table equalcells="1" colwidth=",,"]NAME
TYPE
FROM
Hunter
Bundle
Halo 5: Guardians 10th Anniversary
Helljumper
Bundle
Halo 5: Guardians 10th Anniversary
Copperhead
Bundle
Halo 5: Guardians 10th Anniversary
Shinobi
Bundle
Halo 5: Guardians 10th Anniversary
Ghost of Reach
Bundle
FLEETCOM
Whisper
Helmet
Shadows
TACAIR XMU
Helmet Attachment
Shadows
UTIL/Paradigm Terminal
Shoulderpads
Shadows
WILLOWKEY II
Chest Gear
Shadows
UTIL/IWNH-2559
Hip Gear
Shadows
TAC/PODA
Wrist Gear
Shadows
UA/Type WHSP
Kneepads
Shadows
Midnight Whisper
Armor Coating
Shadows
Lancer
Helmet
Warpath
Advanced Bevor
Helmet Attachment
Warpath
Advanced Gardbrace
Shoulderpads
Warpath
Advanced Plackart
Chest Gear
Warpath
Lancer’s Belt
Hip Gear
Warpath
Advanced Vambrace
Wrist Gear
Warpath
UA/Type LCR
Kneepads
Warpath
UEG Regalia
Armor Coating
Warpath
Dirgesinger
Helmet
Haloween II
Depthless Messenger
Helmet Gear
Haloween II
True Mantle
Shoulders
Haloween II
Tangent Caress
Chest Gear
Haloween II
Blighted Vitality
Hip Gear
Haloween II
Gravestone Growth
Wrist Gear
Haloween II
Erupting Growth
Kneepads
Haloween II
Veteran Steel
Armor Coating
Haloween II
[p align="start"]Hundreds of free customizations from previous Operations, Seasons, Events, and Fractures have now made their way to The Exchange! Dig into 2X SP now to flex a new Spartan ‘fit.PLAYER RESOURCES
[p align="start"]To help new and returning players navigate the constellated cosmos of Halo Infinite, we’ve compiled a list of useful resources below. Visit these links for detailed information on all multiplayer playlists, an overview of game modes, patch notes, and more:Join the official Halo Discord server.
Read the patch notes for Operation: Infinite.
Check out all multiplayer matchmaking playlists.
Read descriptions for multiplayer modes in Halo Infinite.
Learn about creating custom maps and modes in Forge.
SUPPORT
[p align="start"]Run into a bug, glitch, or unexpected issue? Submit a ticket to Halo Support.[p align="start"]You can submit tickets on a wide range of topics that includes reports of audio issues, crashes, game-save corruption, general bug reports, and more.PRESS KIT
[p align="start"]Download the Operation: Infinite press kit.October 7 Update
The nightmare returns. Back from the grave and more gruesome than ever, Survive the Undead claws its way back into Halo Infinite. First introduced last Haloween, the Forge Falcons’ labor of love made the jump from Combat Workshop to playlist just in time for the spooktacular season. And now, it’s back with a new map!
Strategic Survival
At its core, Survive the Undead is an Infection-based Firefight survival mode where you, the player, are trying to avoid dying. However, unlike the “regular” Infection modes you may be thinking of where everyone is looking out for themselves, you are in a team of 4 trying to survive the onslaught of infected enemies. Think of it as a horde mode. You can learn the finer points and read more about how this playlist came to be down below.
The return of the playlist, as part of the Operation: Haloween II offering, comes with everything you know and love from before and adds one brand new map:
Station of the Lost
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Abandon all hope, all ye who enter this abandoned station. Remember, there's safety in numbers so stick together.
Survive the Undead is the first Community created playlist to go from Combat Workshop to Playlist and it’s just in time for Haloween!
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/67fac4cf8d04fad4e8069a2e503683d19aa87dc1.jpg"]You can read a bit more about the Forge Falcons and how Survive the Undead came to life over here.
Objective: Survive
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/f82bc0aa1c4c52a9ce74a81414ad3e08f87ef1cb.jpg"]By now, we all know what Infection is. You vs the horde that’s trying to infect you so you become one of them. Usually round based, the game ends once all Spartans are infected or until there’s a lone survivor able to fend off the constant attacks.
Survive the Undead puts a slight twist on the typical Infection and makes it a more linear experience. And, as the name implies, the idea is to beat the waves of infected and simply survive as long as you can. The rounds start off simple and get progressively more difficult, with points awarded for each round cleared and each kill. Spend your earned points wisely…or go ham on the mystery box (my personal favorite – who doesn’t love surprises?) and then regroup and get ready for the next round!
Survival Handbook
Looking for some pointers? Straight from the Forge Falcons comes this guide to ensure you have the best chance possible to survive the undead.
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Perks
The three perks are Health, Damage, and Speed. There are 4 tiers per perk and each tier costs 600 points. All perks reset upon death and must be repurchased.
Health Perk
Tier 1: 25% Health Increase
Tier 2: 10% Health Increase
Tier 3: 5% Health Increase
Tier 4: Vampirism
Speed Perk
Tier 1: 100% Reload Speed Increase + 10% Movement Speed
Tier 2: 50% Melee Recovery + 10% Movement Speed
Tier 3: 10% Movement Speed + 10% Slide Speed
Tier 4: 10% Movement Speed + 10% Sprint Speed
Damage Perk
Tier 1: 100% Damage Increase
Tier 2: 100% Damage Increase
Tier 3: 100% Damage Increase + 100% Melee Impulse
Tier 4: 100% Damage Increase + 50% Melee Damage
Bonus Drops
There are four bonus drops that have a chance to appear when killing enemies: Boom, Spray & Pray, Mounted & Loaded, and Score Attack. These drops are announced by voice lines matching their names.
Boom
Effect: Instantly kills all AI, granting each player 400 points. Benefits from Score Attack.
Strategy: Use when in dire need.
Spray & Pray
Effect: Removes shields from all enemies, making them one-shot kills for 30 seconds.
Strategy: Ideal against bosses.
Mounted & Loaded
Effect: Refills ammo for all players.
Strategy: Use when team ammo is critically low.
\[Score Attack
Effect: Doubles points from kills for 30 seconds; effects stack. Also, keep in mind that this drop affects the points granted from the Boom drop.
Strategy: Collect immediately for maximum benefit.
Player Buy Back
The Player Buy Back (650 points) is located in the spawn room and revives fallen allies, granting the activating player an overshield. It only works if allies are down.
Ammunition Wall Buy
The Ammunition Wall Buy (350 points) is in the spawn room on all maps, it has the ‘ammunition’ nav marker and refills the activator’s ammo. It can be used even with full ammo, so check before buying.
Point Sharing Wall Buy
The Point Sharing Wall Buy is located in the 2nd territory on all maps, it has the ‘points’ nav marker and allows players to share points. It costs 2,000 points to use and it will split the 2,000 points between all players in the game. For example: A team of 2 players receives 1,000 points each. A team of4 players receive 500 each.
Random Weapon Box
The Random Weapon Box is located in either the 2nd territory or 3rd territory depending on the map, it is the red banished looking box. It costs 300 points and will grant players a random weapon.
Weapon Upgrade Machine
The Weapon Upgrade Machine has received an overhaul since the combat workshop, it will now take the weapon you have and upgrade that weapon with other combinations. It costs 1,000 points and can be found in the spawn room on all maps. It will also have the ‘Upgrade’ nav marker.
Weapon & Equipment Wall Buys
Wall buys offer weapons or equipment at displayed prices. Ammo can be refilled via the ammunition wall buy, the Mounted & Loaded drop, or by rebuying the weapon.
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/38365036/7c033dba83835faf89f187c9eae0e25f798b0e59.jpg"]In the Combat Workshop, there was only one map available to you. Now that the playlist has hit the big time, there are multiple options in the playlist:
Installation of the Dead
Night of the Undead
Countdown of the Dead
Squad up, watch each other’s backs, and maybe you’ll survive the undead.
From the shadows comes a voice…
“GET TO THE FALCON!”
Operation: Shadows is the first Operation of our 2025 Fall Update but it will not be going quietly into that dark night. With the Falcon in the skies and the Vestige Carbine in hand, Operation: Shadows launches Famished Famished Falcons and Banished Slayer into the spotlight.
Let’s check those out!
Famished Famished Falcons
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Why are Falcons flocking to fly furiously across the sky in pursuit of the furled flag? Why, it’s because they’re famished, of course!
Based loosely off a children’s game featuring starving river horses, Famished Famished Falcons pits four teams of 3 players against each other. Work together as a team, pile into your Falcon, and race to the middle with the ultimate goal: Capture the Flag.
To make things a bit more fun, everyone has a Plasma Pistol (which can EMP vehicles!) and a Grappleshot, allowing you some creative freedom and movement opportunities.
Skyblocks
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This is the (very colorful) map you’ll be having your aerial dogfights on. Remember what color platform you start on so you know where to bring the flag!
Just remember…no one said you had to be on your Falcon to capture the flag. You just gotta get the flag to your zone to score a point.
Four teams, four falcons, 12 Spartans, 1 flag. You do the math.
Banished Slayer
Get locked and loaded… It’s time for Banished Slayer!
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This asymmetrical matchmaking mode will have you thinking strategically (who am I kidding, you should always be doing that anyway…) and working together to out-play the enemy (should be routine as well!).
Looking at Loadouts
Before you come for me for the “L” word, it’s simply a way to differentiate starting gear for both teams and has some nice alliteration. Banished Slayer is a two team mode that features asymmetrical “loadouts.” What does that mean, exactly? One team will spawn with UNSC gear:
Bandit Evo
MA5K Avenger
Frag Grenades
While the other team has some of the Banished armory at their disposal, as well as the Infected Banished overlay:
Vestige Carbine
Pulse Rifle
Spike Grenades
For those that played it, this may feel somewhat familiar to Invasion Slayer from Halo: Reach. Beyond the starting equipment, everything else is business as usual. Team based slayer, race to 50 kills, everyone has access to content on the map, etc.
If you’re looking to get your hands on the Vestige Carbine and put it through its paces, this is a great mode for that since half the lobby will be spawning with it. If you spawned with a Bandit Evo, well… You know how you can earn one. 😈
Experience Ecotone
You’ll be playing on nine maps that should be familiar such as Forest, Prism, Dredge, and many others, along with a new Community Forge map, Ecotone! You should also be able to find Ecotone in Quick Play Slayer, KOTH, Oddball, and Strongholds if those are your jam.
Ecotone
Credits: Yeehaw J24, Scrubulba, Igrizhar, Jovaliant
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Danger could be lurking around any corner…on any level. Also, say hi to Fret when you find him.
And with that, it’s time to venture out, feel the power of the Vestige Carbine, hear the spin of the Falcon rotors, and put your skills to the test! Read more about the update in our 2025 Fall Playlist blog.
See you on the battlefield!
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Battle Brief
The Banished were invited in by Iratus and it’s up to you to repel the forces from the steps of the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science. In your typical fireteam size of four you’ll be squadding up to stand your ground.
Our first taste of this linear Firefight mode came with Ardent Prayer back at launch.
“What does linear Firefight mean?”
Thank you for asking, I’d love to tell you. Rather than simply defend hills or race ahead to each hill, you’ll find this mode progresses and gets a bit more difficult at each turn.
a campaign, this experience moves forward sequentially – you’ll need to finish one battle before you can move forward and start another. In short, Firefight: Battle of the Academy is raising the stakes and is asking you to defend the bases from the onslaught. The goal? Keep the Banished from getting their hands on humanity’s best kept secrets.
Don’t forget to read the upcoming Waypoint Chronicles for more color and insight into the battle.
Lay of the Land
You’ll be going Out With a Bang as you enact the Cole Protocol in this playlist. Okay, not really but those are the two maps you’ll be playing on as you engage in the Battle of the Academy.
Out With A Bang
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Bookmarks: Map | Mode
If you’re gonna go out, is there any better way than going out with a bang? I thought not. Under cover of darkness, you’ll be tasked with making your way to the evac zone but it’s no easy task. Battle through chokeholds, fight alongside the Marines you find along the way, work your way through the facility, and even brush up on your parkour a bit. Scavenge for ammo/weapons and keep moving!
Cole Protocol
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Bookmarks: Map | Mode
Credits: Cousin Tim, Timmyforges
Established by Admiral Preston J. Cole (only the most interesting man in Halo if you ask me), the Cole Protocol is a directive set to prevent the Covenant (or other enemies) from discovering Earth or other colonies.
Now, it is up to you to defend the data and knowledge. Armed with your weapons, wit, and the Marines battling alongside you, repel the Banished forces and hold your ground. Good luck.
Mutilator Madness
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The fabled Mutilator arrives in Halo Infinite. Previously the stuff of legends, the brutal cross between a shotgun and Gravity Hammer takes no prisoners and has no mercy. The Mutilator boasts a double barrel that fires one shell at a time in primary fire mode or fires both at once in the alt-fire mode. And the melee packs a punch! You know what who else packs a punch?
Juggernaut.
As we learned before, the Juggernaut has some good perks:
- Buffed shields
- Increased damage resistance
- Speed Boost
- Quantum Translocator
- Gravity Hammer
In Mutilator Madness, the same applies except as the Juggernaut you won’t wield the Gravity Hammer. Instead, you’ll be equipped with the Mutilator and Grappleshot. If you kill the Juggernaut, get ready! It’s your turn to be a menace.
Well, what are you waiting for? The battle’s begun, get in there, Spartans!
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Halo: From the Soil to the Stars is available here, on Halo Waypoint, as a free PDF, and in audiobook format on YouTube.
Historian's Note
Halo: From the Soil to the Stars takes place over September 19-21, 2559—approximately three weeks before deployment to Reach for Operation: WOLFE.
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DR. CATHERINE HALSEY, PERSONAL JOURNAL
ENCRYPTION CODE: GAWAIN
SUBJECT: MJOLNIR GEN3
For almost half a century, I have given everything I possibly can to my Spartans. The mind, body, and soul of myself and many others have been scraped away, bit by bit, in the pursuit of saving humanity—first from itself, then from the Covenant… and now, from the cascading fallout of innumerable intricate actions for which there are no end of consequences.
You are called upon once again to lead them over the threshold and into the darkness, to fight against impossible odds. And to win.
You’ve always been good at that, haven’t you John?
To that end, I have something for you. Something you will need.
The Mjolnir exosuit is now complete.
Even though this technology will save humanity in the war to come, I must remind myself that liquid crystal cannot rise on its own. Titanium alloy cannot prevail in the face of extinction. Armor cannot hope.
It all means nothing, until you step inside.
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KC-59, BXR MINING CORPORATION BASE CAMP
0600 HOURS // SEPTEMBER 19, 2559
The day began like any other.
Henrietta Varadi, along with more than two-dozen of her fellow miners, rolled out of the modest bunks in their subterranean sleeping quarters.
After waking herself up with a brisk shower, Varadi dried herself off, pulled on her BXR fatigues, and headed for the canteen. Same breakfast as ever: two slightly overcooked sausages, beans, mushrooms, and a slice of bacon—not too crispy. An unsubtle wink at Jessica as she served up the food, a smile reserved just for her, and that became two slices of bacon—a daily ritual they had both grown familiar with in recent weeks.
Varadi wolfed down her breakfast and returned to her bunk, picking up the book from the attached shelf: a gently used copy of Rendezvous with Ramen by the noted chef and food critic Arturo Bustamante. There were a spare fifteen minutes before her shift started and she had arrived at a particularly engrossing anecdote about the three days that Bustamante had spent in Rio de Janeiro visiting a Sangheili-owned establishment. Reading about the alien food was interesting, but the meals and recipes were more of a gateway into the personal stories of these strange refugees who had been given a home on Earth itself.
Alas, the klaxon sounded in short order, forcing her to put the book down a few pages short of her normal quota.
Varadi suited up into her OSTEO gear and met with her team by the imposing circular vault door that separated the base’s living quarters and operations center from the mines. After an extensive period of checking pressure seals, internal systems, oxygen filters, and numerous other safety elements, the vault door was opened to reveal the vast cavern beyond.
KC-59—simply nicknamed “Casey” by those who had set up shop on its surface—was a largely desolate planet, but it contained something of immense value to the United Nations Space Command: extensive deposits of titanium.
As had been drilled into her and the rest of the crew from day one, titanium was the bread and butter of humanity’s interstellar civilian and military production.
“When you see the cavalry arrive over the hill in M808 MBTs, you’re lookin’ at a solid wall of titanium,” Varadi recalled Foreman Brine barking at them during her onboarding to the BXR Mining Corporation. “When a starship’s battle plating protects you from the unforgiving vacuum of space and superheated plasma, you won’t be sendin’ thanks to any god of your choosing, you’ll be addressin’ your tender heartfelt regards to titanium-A battle plating!”
Varadi had never expected to hear such a vocally emphatic history lesson about the various everyday uses of titanium and where it could be found. Brine had insisted that it was important they all show the appropriate knowledge and respect for atomic number twenty-two.
But the titanium that Varadi and her comrades were mining here wasn’t going to be used for any of those things. Above Casey sat Perihelion Station, a Materials Group facility where the next generation of Mjolnir armor for the Spartans was being developed.
“Y’know what that means?” Foreman Brine had said after she and her fellow miners had been briefed by their Materials Group partners about the Casey job. “This is the most important goddamn titanium you’ll ever excavate.”
On that, at least, Varadi knew he was right. When a Spartan stepped onto the battlefield, they represented the culmination of a thousand lives that had built the ultimate weapon. Engineers and scientists who created the armor and augmentations, miners who provided the materials, technicians who kept the armor systems tuned for optimal efficiency and performance…
That was what it meant when folks said Spartans represent hope for humanity. It was not simply about the individual soldier, but the work—and, at times, the sacrifices made—to deliver them to the fight.
Inspiring as it was, sometimes it all seemed so futile, that the sum total of humanity’s resolve in the battle for survival would one day cost them too much. Doubt forever seemed to loom over them as new threats arose, casting a long shadow, but Varadi knew she had a part to play.
Her dream would be waiting for her on that distant horizon after this was all over: a brighter future, she hoped, where she ran her own restaurant. Maybe with Jessica, if she liked the idea of leaving all of this behind to start a new life—Rio certainly seemed like a good idea. And if things went really well… Varadi figured she could even send a personal invitation to Arturo Bustamante himself.
But until then, she would mine. Duty to humanity still ultimately compelled her, and to bring an end to these conflicts they would need no end of titanium.
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UNSC AMICABLE DISAGREEMENT
1300 HOURS // SEPTEMBER 20, 2559
“So, what’s the deal with this Orca armor?”
“That’s Orcus, Private Smith,” Gunnery Sergeant Babatunde corrected in a gruff tone, immediately clocking a smartass disguising their nerves. “And the Corps are eager to find out what hardass au naturel grunts like us can achieve with some new toys, starting with how well it holds up from a titanium coffin ride. So buckle up, troopers,” Babatunde’s voice boomed through the frigate’s deployment bay. “Get ready to drop!”
A chorus of “Oo-rah!”s sounded off as half-a-dozen Orbital Drop Shock Troopers of the Ninth Platoon stepped off the grated gantry and secured themselves into their drop pods, all clad in semi-powered ORCUS exoskeletons.
Somebody somewhere in the chain of command had apparently taken umbrage with the idea of this armor being developed simply as a drop-in upgrade package for Spartans. Scuttlebutt was that ORCUS was being brought out of development limbo to be tested for more direct and specialized helljumper applications—starting here.
“PFC Núñez,” the gunnery sergeant called out from his pod. “Would you be so kind as to describe to me the manner in which we will be deploying?”
“Feet first, sir!” Private First Class Núñez responded.
“You afraid of heights, Private Smith?”
“No, sir! Can’t get enough of them, sir!”
“How many drops is this for you, Private?”
“F–first one, sir.” Smith’s bravado receded a little and several of the other ODSTs let out knowing laughs.
“You keep your breakfast, lunch, and dinner in that stomach of yours, soldier. We don’t need you making any impromptu paint jobs over this shiny new armor or these cozy luxury pods, you hear me?”
“Understood, sir.”
The hatches of their pods closed, sealing each trooper inside. The frigate’s deployment bay floor then began to open, revealing a glimpse of the planet below—KC-59.
“The light is green,” the voice of one of Amicable Disagreement’s bridge officers sounded over their comms. “Initiating drop.”
“Ten-four,” Gunnery Sergeant Babatunde confirmed as he appeared on one of the interior screens of Núñez’s pod. “Express elevator to hell, going down!”
Núñez tried to steady their breathing, remembering the exercises they had been taught to keep calm and clear-headed during a drop.
But all of a sudden, the pod’s three green status lights had already pitilessly counted down and the next thing Núñez knew the breath had been taken out of their chest as gravity assumed command of their entry vehicle.
The terrestrial surface of KC-59 now filled the pod’s thin vertical viewport and Núñez focused their mind on the information readout of the planet.
Orbital period of seven-and-a-half Earth years… 6519-kilometer radius… thirty-one Earth hour days… surface gravity of 1.1G…
Vast expanses of rocky mountains covered the surface, but the mining craters were by far the most striking feature—tracts of concentric circles, surrounded by outposts and massive equipment arrays that were gradually becoming ever more visible. A central processing facility housed a skyhook that connected to Perihelion, the planet’s orbital station, while others played host to mass drivers that could send their cargo into orbit in a slightly more dramatic way.
“Smith, tighten up your approach vector, you’re drifting away from the group!” Gunnery Sergeant Babatunde ordered over the comm.
Núñez watched as Smith made a slight adjustment with the pod’s directional control sticks, bringing him back on-course. He seemed to be keeping a level head for a first timer, managing to not overcorrect his movement inwards which would thereby risk a collision with other nearby pods.
“Alright everyone, time to pop your chutes.”
Five drag chutes bloomed into view only to instantly vanish from Núñez’s viewport as their own pod continued screaming towards the ground below.
Their command returned no response.
Núñez felt the rising swell of fear as their situation crystallized.
“Sir, my chute isn’t responding. Please advise.”
“Keep calm, Núñez,” Babatunde spoke with a reassuringly steady tone. “Hit your retro thrusters now to slow your descent. Should buy you a little extra time as we work this out.”
Núñez hit a button on their seat arm’s control panel and allowed a momentary sensation of relief at the immediate feedback, jerking the pod upwards.
It took effort to keep their mind focused and breathing steady. Over the last few days on Perihelion Station, they had been learning the art of “no-thought” and several Sangheili battle-meditation exercises from Spartan-058. Núñez was light-years away from mastering these methods, but they followed the logic of the teaching: Thoughts and feelings are directionless paths branching in a deep forest—do not follow them. This is not about an absence of thinking, it is a rejection of being lost in the endless possibilities of thought, uniting body and mind in clarity until it comes as naturally as breathing.
Simply put in this scenario: attempting to trace the reason back as to why the pod was malfunctioning and who was at fault was irrelevant guesswork.
Focus on the moment. Find the solution. Live.
“What now, sir?”
“Initiate a quick reset. It’ll take a few seconds to kick in and force reboot all systems. Just let it do its thing.”
A twist of a control dial and confirmation of intent instantly shut down all internal systems within the pod. The lights of its screens winked out and the Gunnery Sergeant’s image vanished, leaving Núñez to sit in darkness.
Focus on the sound of each breath.
The longest seconds Núñez had ever counted passed—two… three… four…—and still the pod was falling. The ground getting closer and closer…
All of a sudden, the screens flicked back on again and Núñez immediately hit the button for the drag chute.
Inertia compensators hadn’t fully come online, but the sudden jolt of deceleration as the chute fired out of the top of the pod had never felt so good. Whatever whoops and cheers Núñez may have wanted to let out, neither their lungs nor their brain allowed it as adrenaline pumped through their body. Instead, Núñez simply winked a green status light and shifted focus to the landing that was still to come.
“Troopers, thank you for flying with us today at Badass Airlines,” Babatunde said, cutting through the tension. “Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times until landing. And yes, that has been a problem before.”
Babatunde guided the final stages of their descent until all six pods hit solid ground.
Núñez felt like every bone had been violently pulled from their body and then shoved back in. But as the hatch blew off, Núñez grabbed their stowed MA40 and immediately leapt out of the pod’s harness, their movement assisted by the semi-powered armor. The dark interior of the vehicle was suddenly replaced by rolling rocky plains, a light blue sky, and cotton white clouds.
“Nobody popped,” Babatunde reported.
They had all made it. They were alive.
As the squad regrouped and formed up, Gunnery Sergeant Babatunde inspected each ODST’s armor to confirm all systems were green and no damage had been suffered from the landing. Upon reaching Núñez, he announced, “One of the most valuable lessons a soldier can learn is that technology can break, but you mustn’t.” He clapped Núñez on the back. “You stayed calm, followed instructions, and managed to land within an acceptable distance of the squad. Good work, soldier.”
Núñez was suddenly grateful for the polarized faceplate hiding their smile at the hint of admiration from the Gunnery Sergeant.
“Alright, we’ve got a three-klick hike to reach the extraction point and get back to the ship.” The troopers began to fall in line to make the trek. A tone of mischief entered Babatunde’s voice as he added: “Then we go again!”
That was met with a handful of groans, but Núñez simply nodded as they followed, cresting that first hill and watching the sun glint off the edge of the distant peaks.
“Feet first!”
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PERIHELION STATION
1600 HOURS // SEPTEMBER 21, 2559
Master Sergeant Marcus Stacker took his moments of rest where he could get them.
The elevator ferrying him to the war games deck of Perihelion Station featured a curved viewport that looked out over the immense mining operation being conducted by the BXR Mining Corporation on and below the surface of KC-59.
A colossal crater, some sixty kilometers in diameter, had been bored into the planet’s surface where extensive deposits of titanium were still in the process of being mined and ferried back up to the station. From the stories his uncle had told him many years ago, Stacker had no end of respect for the folks who signed up for jobs like this—just because it didn’t involve combat (at least, not typically), that didn’t diminish the brass required for jobs that involved a mix of zero-g station maintenance, extreme depths, exotic materials, and countless other quirks he no doubt knew nothing about. All to play a small but essential part in protecting humanity.
For his part, he and the ODSTs of the Ninth Platoon had been running exercises to push themselves, their armor, and their opponents to the limit over the last three days.
That hadn’t proven difficult when they were training both with and against soldiers of legend—the Spartans of Blue Team, led by the Master Chief himself.
The last seven years of Stacker’s military career had, by pure chance, been inexplicably connected to humanity’s greatest hero, and it was for that reason that Captain Thomas Lasky had selected him to lead the Ninth Platoon for these exercises.
“You have unique experience, Master Sergeant.” Captain Lasky had said to him aboard Infinity a few days ago, before adding with a smirk, “One day, it’ll make a hell of a memoir.”
“Nobody’ll believe a word of it,” Stacker had remarked. “‘And then the Master Chief literally appeared out of thin air, jumped into a tank, and helped us kick the Covenant’s asses a whole klick across the desert before taking out Requiem’s gravity well so we could go home.’ Hell, sometimes I still don’t believe it.”
The almost miraculous nature of it all sometimes made the Master Sergeant uncomfortable. He was much more at home dwelling on the tangible: tactics, training, and clinical, routine execution. In Stacker’s eyes, the real miracle was the ability to unify a group of soldiers through pride and preparation.
The Spartans and ODSTs had been pitted against each other, four against a whole platoon, utilizing tactical lock-up rounds in a variety of training scenarios. Just as the Spartans had been field testing their new GEN3 Mjolnir armor, so too had the ORCUS exoskeleton been put to the test as drop pods were regularly launched from the frigate Amicable Disagreement down to KC-59. Nothing would be able to fully recreate the circumstances of a true combat drop, but zero casualties and successful results on these test runs was a win in Stacker’s book.
The elevator came to a stop at Perihelion Station’s top level and, with the crispness of a salute, the doors slid open to reveal the ringed, multi-level combat deck.
The top floor of the combat deck played host to the recreation center along with multiple gymnasiums and rooms for sparring. Below that lay the armory and several multi-axis Brokkr devices, machines used to assist the Spartans with putting on and taking off their armor. The third floor down—the “main event,” as it were—was the war games simulation deck, which took the form of a Munera Platform that could also be deployed separately from the station’s underbelly if desired.
Stacker had worked closely with the simulation techs of the UNSC’s Cartographer Initiative to devise unique challenges over the last few days. The simulator had been configured into a series of arenas that spanned a wide variety of locations—from urban environments on Earth to ancient facilities recorded on different Forerunner installations, everything and anything they had in the system. New rules, new threats, new environmental hazards. Stacker had been throwing it all at them to see just how quickly the Spartans and ODSTs could adjust on the fly.
The concave walls of the deck were lined with a series of screens that were synchronized with the helmet cameras of the Spartans and ODSTs. As he approached, Stacker could tell there was an exercise in progress.
An ODST marksman turned their weapon towards Linda-058, but Fred-104 was sprinting towards Linda’s position, weapons holstered, as he blasted the ground with a repulsor equipped to his forearm which launched him some six feet into the air. As the ODST fired, sending two tactical lock-up rounds directly at Linda, Fred tossed a drop wall unit with his other hand which emitted an energy shield that absorbed the first hit. The second shot impacted upon the drop wall unit itself, blasting it apart.
Linda neither hesitated nor flinched in reaction. This had simply bought her time to get a fix on the marksman’s position. To Stacker, it looked as if Linda had fired her rifle and dropped the marksman as she was still in the process of readying her aim.
From one of the nearby sparring rooms, Kelly-087’s voice issued a commanding “Again.” She and her ODST partner, Lance Corporal Julie Chang, were demonstrating hand-to-hand drills effective against Unggoy and Kig-Yar to a group of fifteen others.
Stacker had seen Kelly in action over the last few days, darting across the simulated battlefield with her thruster module which had been modified to engage a few seconds of active camouflage. She had overclocked the system to recharge faster which reduced the length of the camouflage system to just half-a-second—but that was all she needed to give the illusion of disappearing and reappearing in unpredictable places.
Finally, a couple of rooms over, Stacker caught a glimpse of the Master Chief himself.
There was something almost quaint in seeing the Spartan revered by so many as humanity’s ultimate champion spotting for half-a-dozen ODSTs in one of the gymnasiums. Stacker observed the Chief dutifully checking the weights and equipment with every rotation. That came as no surprise given the terse history between Spartans and ODSTs, going back to an incident aboard the UNSC Atlas where four of the 105th had ended up either critically wounded or dead after an… unfortunate altercation.
That was well over thirty years ago now, but “forgive and forget” wasn’t in the service manual for a helljumper. Some of the old guard felt resentment towards those who had gone on to volunteer for the SPARTAN-IV program, and even some of the troopers on Perihelion Station hadn’t been enthused about the prospect of serving as “training dummies” for Spartans.
Despite all this, the scene in the gymnasium told its own story as the ODSTs cheered and whooped for Corporal Malika Aswad hitting some kind of record. The Chief gently clamped a congratulatory hand on her shoulder.
The reality was that the presence of the Spartans had naturally created a spectacle that made the ODSTs push themselves harder. That camaraderie was exactly what Stacker had hoped for, but he knew that a soldier’s confidence had to be tempered with a reminder of reality. These last few days had offered a safe environment to sharpen their steel, but the only test waiting for them on the battlefield was whether they would make it to the end of the day.
That test would arrive soon enough.
“Attention, all hands,” Stacker spoke into a station-wide comm. “We’re saddlin’ up, it’s time to wrap this party. Infinity will arrive at eighteen-hundred hours, after which point we’re back to business as usual.”
They all knew what “business as usual” meant. Evading enemy forces, making house calls to abandoned facilities for resupply runs, choosing which battles to fight… and counting those that didn’t make it back.
Operation: WOLFE was just a few weeks away, and returning to the glasslands of Reach would prove physically and psychologically challenging for all of them. Nobody seemed to know much about the mission itself, but they all had their part to play—that meant being prepared for anything.
And after that? Stacker figured he had a good amount of shore leave banked. Perhaps it was time to finally cash in, make a start on those memoirs…
Like hell, he sighed, watching the Spartans and ODSTs pack up equipment together like a regular band of brothers. He—like everybody else here—was in the fight until the end.
As Stacker began making his own preparations, he found himself humming an old miner’s tune that had been a favorite of his uncle’s.
Buried in the heart of an ancient moon, he always dreamed of the fight
Glory was won while his brothers were lost, in battles he waged in the night
His life blown away in the blood that he gave, an offering unrecognized
Never became what he already was, the darkness that brings on the light.
Current Release
Not available
System Requirements
How to Install
setup.exe
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
45.9 GB
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