The official Halo Waypoint blog from 343 Industries is calling the E3 trailer reveal for Halo: Infinite the "opening salvo."
343 Studio Head of FPS Chris Lee stated in a separate post, "
I know waiting can be hard for folks who are excited for more info about the game. We are taking the time we need to make the right game and are making changes to how we approach things this time around.
The goal of the entire 343 Industries team is to make a great Halo game for our fans that alsoinvites new players into our franchise. We will have some new and unexpected directions to take folks in and I believe the way we achieve that is to build alongside our community, iterating and improving as we go."
ABOUT HALO INFINITE
The Master Chief returns in Halo Infinite – the next chapter of the legendary franchise. Developed by 343 Industries and created with our new Slipspace Engine, Halo Infinite was revealed at the Xbox E3 2018 Briefing with a thrilling engine demo that provides a glimpse into the future of the Halo franchise, leading it into new and unexpected directions.
Fans are hoping that Halo returns to its glory days but is that an unrealistic goal? Currently, Halo: Infinite seems a ways out and a lot could change in the interim.
Halo: Infinite's new graphics engine, dubbed Slipspace, is a direct homage to the physics term for in-universe method of faster-than-light travel. Work on the engine began back in early 2015, around the time of the launch for Halo 5.
The blog post goes on to stress that 343 Industries has been focusing on the technical efforts necessary to take the Halo franchise into the next generation. But is that in a literal sense? Afer all, Microsoft has already confirmed that they're hard at work on the successor to the Xbox One.
At E3, Aaron Greenberg, general manager of marketing at Xbox, reassured fans that unlike some of the previous entries in the Reclaimer Saga, Halo: Infinite will focus on Master Chief. "his is an entirely new chapter in the Halo saga...t’s a story that centers on Master Chief. I think you saw visually some of the capabilities of the engine and we’re excited to share more, but for now: There’s a new Halo coming, it’s Halo Infinite and it features really a focus on Master Chief, which I think will be received well by the fans."
343 Industries has explained that the reason the game is titled Halo: Infinite and not Halo 6 is because they want the new installment to be inviting to new players making their first foray into the world of Halo. Diving into a game that's six installments in is psychologically, a little daunting. In turn, 343 Industries has also reiterated that Halo: Infinite is a great jumping on point for beginners and that moving away from numbered installments isn't just a marketing ploy.
So just when will Halo: Infinite be available for purchase? It's still too early to say, it seems. However, there have been hints at an early, beta testing phase for the game, similar to the current Insider flighting program for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Currently, Halo fans are content with trying to decipher the hidden closes in the E3 teaser trailer. It seems their efforts have already unearthed a hidden morse code, which revealed that the game takes place (or partly takes place) on Installation 07, aka Halo Zeta.