An 11-year-old story detail from the Halo Infinite. Very little has been revealed about the plot of the sequel other than the fact that players will battle the Banished and its leader Escharum as Master Chief attempts to regain control of Zeta Halo and discover the truth behind Cortana and her rampancy in Halo 5: Guardians.
Halo Infinite had a very public delay last year after a gameplay reveal was widely criticized by fans. The game's visuals came under close scrutiny, with Microsoft and 343 Industries deciding that the best course of action was to push back to the launch to ensure its quality met with fan expectations. The delay appears to have worked, with Halo Infinite's Craig the Brute seeing a graphical transformation in newly released footage.
A recent tweet from the official Halo Twitter contained a video reported to be from the in-game organization UNSC's archives. it tells the story of a soldier who was responsible for stealing Covenant technology. This tech would later go on to help develop the energy shield for the franchise's protagonist Master Chief. According to fellow Twitter Alex Haruspis, this is actually a story that is far older than first appears. According to Haruspis, the story of Lance Corporal Chris Preston was included in the Limited Edition of Halo: Reach in Doctor Halsey's journal. The text confirms that Preston was responsible for stealing a unique shield from a Jackal that helped drive energy shield technology for humanity.
Despite the long delay, not all of the features originally intended to be included will be available on release day. 343 Industries has announced that Halo Infinite will not have ray tracing at launch, with the feature added to the game at a later date. The developer has already previously revealed that campaign co-op and Forge will also not be included in the release when it first hits store shelves this year.
The fact that 343 Industries and Microsoft are being so careful in regards to including references and callbacks to previous materials, regardless of how small or seemingly insignificant, is a welcome sign that they are taking Halo Infinite very seriously. After all, it would have been easier to simply ignore such elements when creating new marketing material or story details. Fans will likely be reassured that such dedicated and well-read developers are working on the game and the wider Halo franchise.
Halo Infinite will be available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on December 8, 2021.
Source: Halo/Twitter, Alex Haruspis/Twitter