In case there was any doubt, 343 Industries confirmed that Halo Infinite will not include a battle royale mode. Not much is known about the next iteration in the Halo franchise, which was announced at E3 earlier this year. Aside from a brief teaser trailer, fans aren’t even sure whether Halo Infinite will launch this generation. One thing, however, is certain: Halo is not hopping onto the battle royale bandwagon anytime soon. The news came during a stream on 343’s official Mixer channel. A writer for the company,  Jeff “GrimBrother One” Easterling, addressed the topic after a prompt from a fan.
I’ll tell you right now, the only BR we’re really interested in is Battle Rifle…So the original BR. So calm yourself.
If you’d like to hear his answer for yourself, it’s at around the 55-minute mark in this Mixer stream. At one point in gaming history, this answer wouldn’t be too surprising. However, very little is known about 343’s plans for Halo Infinite. Rumors are circulating that the title will follow a games-as-a-service model. Therefore, any new info, however minute, helps give players an idea of what to expect.
Catching the battle royale bug
Whereas last year’s big news was whether or not new games included loot boxes, this year’s hot topic is the inclusion of battle royale. Though games such as H1Z1 were early forerunners of the game style, the genre really hit its stride with the explosive popularity of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite. The two titles continue to see financial and critical success, and both are venturing further into their respective esports markets. As suspected, numerous AAA developers are now vying for a piece of the battle royale action. One high-profile announcement from this year’s E3 is that both Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V are focusing on battle royale. In fact, the former title is eschewing a traditional single-player campaign in the process.
Following 343’s announcement, however, this extreme approach appears unlikely to become an industry trend. For now, players can be content with the fact that the studio is focusing its energy on other aspects of Halo Infinite‘s development. In relation to esports, this may be a blessing in disguise. Despite their popularity, titles such as Fortnite are having difficulty effectively captivating their esports audience. Furthermore, this also means Halo Infinite won’t be directly competing with the new Call of Duty and Battlefield titles. Regardless, given the mixed fan reception of their previous two titles, hopefully the new game manages to capture the magic of the original trilogy.
