Halo Infinite's box art is a real throwback to the old days

Master Chief
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Thursday, July 23, Microsoft and 343 Industries will give us our first look at gameplay from the upcoming Halo Infinite. Today we got a little tease of what's coming, in our first look at the Halo Infinite box art.

The first thing you're likely to notice is that the image is a blatant throwback to the 2001 box art for Halo: Combat Evolved, the very first game in the series. You can see the Halo ring itself curving off in the background, while ships fly through the sky and the Master Chief stares resolutely ahead, ready to shoot lots and lots (and lots) of guys. The "Welcome back, Chief" is pretty on the nose, too.

Also visible, at the very start of the clip, is the reflection of someone—presumably someone he's about to waste—in the Chief's visor. It could very easily be one of the Banished, a renegade faction of the Covenant that filled the bad guy role in Halo Wars 2. 343 has previously hinted at a return of the Banished for Halo: Infinite.

Is that a familiar face in this familiar face? (Image credit: Microsoft)

One thing that's distinctly new in the teaser, as quite a few sharp-eyed have noticed, is the little nodule on the Master Chief's left forearm, widely believed to be a grappling hook. A rumor surfaced yesterday, via VG247, that the grappling hook will be an equipment pickup similar to what was in Halo 3, although how (or even if) it will be included in the campaign is anybody's guess at this point.

For a proper first look at Halo Infinite, and a whole bunch of other upcoming stuff, catch the Xbox Game Showcase beginning at 9 am PT/12 pm ET tomorrow, on Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. This one will be nothing but games: "No business, devices or similar news, just games," Xbox marketing boss Aaron Greenberg said last week. "A whole show about [an] hour long focused on games."

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in Halo
Saber Interactive's head honcho pulled a wild stunt to nab the Halo: Combat Evolved remaster, telling Microsoft he'd do the job for free before ultimately squeezing the publisher for millions
Halo 2 e3 2003 demo
Halo 2's playable E3 2003 demo is an astounding feat of preservation, and everything great about PC gaming
Halo Infinite
Welcome to shooter bizarro world: First Fortnite goes FPS, now Halo Infinite's adding a third person mode
Team members standing in an underground cave
'Y'all killed it': Survive the Undead, a community-made PvE zombie mode, is bringing players back to Halo Infinite
Halo Redshift fan mod Trailer Still
Check out the trailer for this big, cooperative Halo campaign mod
halo infinite season 3 echoes within
Halo Infinite is done with seasons, will get smaller 'content updates' from now on
Latest in News
The titular character from Princess Mononoke is depicted riding the wolf goddess Moro and carrying a spear.
Studio Ghibli AI image trend floods social media, cheered on by OpenAI and denounced by critics as an insult to Hayao Miyazaki
Marvel Rivals tier list - Wolverine
Marvel Rivals director says a future patch will reduce the shooter's insatiable hunger for RAM: 'It's a very big problem'
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
Story of Seasons - A cahacter in a purple tuxedo stands outside in a town square talking to the player
Story of Seasons is doing another Harvest Moon remake and it might be the best the series has ever looked
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
Assassin's Creed Shadows puts up the 'second highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history'
A witch riding a broom sails past a Fish and Chips shop.
Cozy gamers rejoice: Witchbrook finally has a release window, and yes, you can fly around on a broom with your friends