Halo Infinite

343

Xbox may have been reviving, or attempting to revive, big franchises like Fable and Perfect Dark (RIP) or returning with more Gears of War. But Halo has remained on ice outside of multiplayer updates since Infinite launched in 2021, and while 343 (now “Halo Studios”) is working on future projects, one newly reported one is raising eyebrows.

This comes from reliable insider Mr. Rebs, who previously said that a Halo Battle Royale, which tied into the Infinite campaign narrative, was canceled in order to focus on the next Halo game. His latest report says that instead of a battle royale, which is supposed to be an “oversaturated” genre, now, it’s moving onto another genre that is…quickly becoming oversaturated: An extraction shooter.

Tatanka, the codename for the battle royale shooter, is/was turned into a PvE extraction shooter way back when. Confirming this as definitely the next Halo multiplayer game coming is difficult because Rebs says many of his sources were laid off, but this was the plan at least as of late 2023, and they say it’s still supposed to be the next multiplayer project. However, one report says that this game/mode may be absorbed into the next mainline Halo game to operate as a multiplayer mode there. The idea could be a split like COD with traditional multiplayer and a battle royale.

Just the mere mention of a new game being an extraction shooter has already become somewhat exhausting, as the success of just a few titles is being chased as part of a new trend, where trend-chasing often leads to dead or dying projects. Here, a PvE extraction shooter would be something more akin to Helldivers 2 than ARC Raiders, the two newly successful entries in the genre, one PvE, one PvPvE.

But outside of that, we’ve seen Bungie’s Marathon extraction shooter struggle to find an ongoing audience shortly after release. We’ve heard that the seemingly doomed Fairgames may be pivoting to be an extraction shooter. Two weeks ago, extraction shooter The Cube, Save Us, was shut down three weeks after arriving. A new game from Tarkov’s creator, Fragmentary Order, is coming, an alleged PvPvE shooter, which may have a better chance than most.

The hallmarks of an extraction shooter are heading to an open map, looting and fighting AI or human enemies as you go, and attempting to leave without dying. Some of these games will have you lose the loadout you came in with, others, like Helldivers, have you lose valuable materials if you die before you extract or miss a timer. A PvE one may be a “light” version (some don’t even consider Helldivers a true extraction shooter), and it could suit Halo.

The best path here seems like this could be an optional mode in the next Halo game. If this arrives as a standalone extraction shooter before that launches, I think that would be less well-received, and of course, getting this kind of thing right and attracting an audience is difficult, even for established studios. There has been pretty constant frustration with most of the run of 343’s Halo era in many regards, and having Halo show up again after 5+ years as an extraction shooter is certainly not going to be much cause for celebration among fans until it’s somehow amazing. We’ll see whenever Microsoft decides to officially mention Halo again in any capacity at all.

Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.