Halo Infinite's Battle Royale Mode Could Have Been A "Game-Changer," Dev Says

As a seasoned gamer who has witnessed the evolution of gaming since the days of split-screen multiplayer and LAN parties, I can’t help but feel a tinge of nostalgia and curiosity when it comes to the canceled battle royale mode for Halo Infinite. The thought of a sprawling Halo map with unique biomes, teeming with players vying for supremacy, is an alluring proposition that has long captivated the imagination of many in our community.


An employee at Halo Infinite’s support studio, Certain Affinity, has mentioned on their LinkedIn profile the cancellation of a multiplayer mode called battle royale for the game. This individual led a sizable team of designers in creating this previously undisclosed mode that potentially would have significantly impacted the franchise by introducing innovative gameplay elements.

Mike Clopper mentioned that they truly enjoyed both playing the game and the process of developing it. Despite its unfortunate cancellation, he found the entire experience to be exceptional.

Currently, Clopper is serving as the Studio Design Director at Raven Software, a role he recently took up this month, prior to the scheduled release of Black Ops 6 on October 25th.

For quite some time, there were whispers about a “battle royale” type game for Halo Infinite. Supposedly, this project went by the name “Project Tatanka,” but it was later renamed “Project Ekhert” in 2023 before eventually being scrapped. According to Rebs Gaming’s report, this game was intricately linked with the storyline of Halo Infinite and was tested regularly each week. The report further detailed that the game unfolded on a vast map showcasing distinct ecosystems. However, it was ultimately called off, as per the report, because the team decided to focus more on upcoming Halo projects instead.

Although there was talk about Halo Infinite having an official battle royale mode back then, it didn’t materialize as planned. However, the game introduced a mode similar to battle royale, named Last Spartan Standing, which debuted in 2022.

It makes sense that as popular games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, PUBG, Call of Duty: Warzone, and others continue to grab attention and fuel discussions about battle royale, there’s been a growing curiosity about Halo. In July 2018, the writer for the Halo franchise, Jeff Easterling, dashed any hopes of Halo Infinite including a battle royale mode by stating, “As for us, the only BR we’re concerned with is Battle Rifle.

Back in April 2019, well-known Microsoft source Brad Sams hinted at the possibility of 343 Industries incorporating a battle royale gameplay mode into Halo Infinite. According to Sams, the battle royale style featured in Halo Infinite would offer a unique twist compared to games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, but further details remained undisclosed.

According to a recent interview, Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft’s Gaming division, stated that adding a Battle Royale mode to Halo Infinite wasn’t essential from the start.

Speaking about the advancements in FPS multiplayer games over time, he shared his fondness for returning to the Halo arena experience, appreciating its simplicity and the well-crafted gameplay. He noted that there aren’t many games on our platform today that are revisiting the classic formula and refining it, which seems to be the aim of this development team.

2021 saw the release of Halo Infinite, a game that started strong but ultimately fell short of Microsoft’s lofty expectations. Just recently, Microsoft referred to Halo Infinite as the “last vestige” of the old way they develop Halo games, signaling a major shift in their development processes moving forward. As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but feel like Xbox boss Matt Booty was describing a runner who tripped and fell at the finish line when he spoke about Halo Infinite’s launch.

343 Industries has recently rebranded as Halo Studios and is currently working on several fresh Halo titles utilizing Unreal Engine 5. For comprehensive insights into what lies ahead for Halo, be sure to explore TopMob’s analysis.

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2024-10-16 17:09