After two years of teasers at E3, Microsoft finally unveiled gameplay for Halo Infinite, the next installment in the flagship Xbox franchise. Kicking off the Xbox Games Showcase was a nine-minute gameplay video captured from the campaign.
Despite being the sixth main entry in the series, Halo Infinite is a “spiritual reboot," designed so that anyone new to the franchise can jump in. 343 Industries teases it to be "the most expansive Master Chief story yet."
As for the gameplay, it was captured in real-time and is "representative of the experience on Xbox Series X running at 60FPS and up to 4K resolution." The impressive visuals maintain that classic Halo aesthetic as Master Chief crash lands on an alien planet. Throughout the video we see an assortment of weapons Master Chief will have at his disposal, including a few new gadgets like the grappling hook and drop wall shield. While the shield is pretty straightforward, the grappling hook has multiple uses like propelling towards an enemy, scaling cliffs and grabbing/throwing items. The planet appears to be somewhat of an open-world environment, complete with a map to help track objectives. We see Master Chief get around using the signature Warthog.
The video ultimately ends with the reveal of a new Halo ring and confirmation that the Banished will serve as the main antagonists of Halo Infinite. 343 Industries says the ring is several times bigger than the last two Halo games.
“With Halo Infinite, we’re now able to give players more freedom than ever before to explore a sprawling Halo ring,” the developer said. “This demo shows off just a small section of the open and expansive world we’ve crafted to deliver an epic Master Chief experience. The scale of the environment accessible to players is several times larger than that of the last two Halo games combined with opportunities to discover hidden rewards and assault Banished fortifications in brand new ways.”
Halo Infinite is coming "holiday 2020" to Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Windows 10. It will be available via Xbox Game Pass on day one.