Microsoft says Halo: Infinite “is Halo 6”

Microsoft has stated that Halo fans should think of Halo: Infinite as Halo 6, despite the game not actually being called Halo 6.

Speaking during a recent Mixer broadcast, 343 Studios Jeff Easterling said “You should just consider it Halo 6. Don’t think of it as a weird prequel kind of thing. It’s the next story. It’s the next chapter in what’s going on.”

Halo: Infinite was announced at this year’s E3, but apart from a trailer showcasing the 343’s new engine, Slipspace, along with the fact that it's coming to PC, little else about the game was revealed. 

Microsoft has been saying for some time that it wants to get away from numbered Halo titles. But by going with the title “Infinite” Microsoft has muddied the waters perhaps more than it wanted too. Bioshock: Infinite was of course a very different game compared to the original. The term "Infinite" could also signify a much broader structure, perhaps even a shared-universe experience like Destiny or Anthem, which I'm sure Microsoft would like to get on board with.

Microsoft has tried to address this confusion before. Studio head Chris Lee has previously confirmed that Infinite is a direct sequel to Halo 5, while it’s also been determined Infinite will focus more on Master Chief than the last game. But 343 has also said it’s “making changes to how we approach things”, and wants to take players in “new and unexpected directions.” Now Easterling is saying that Infinite is for all intents and purposes Halo 6. I’m getting a headache.

Anyway, to clarify, you should think of Halo Infinite as Halo 6, even through it’s not called that, and you’ll definitely be getting more of what you'd expect from Halo, but in a way that’s new and unexpected. Is that clear?

 

Contributor

Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Tzarina Katarin Bokha, the Ice Queen of Kislev
Total War: Warhammer 3 rolls out a cool Kislev overhaul, changes befitting Tzeench’s magic, new projectile units and creakier skeletal horses
An image of a golden first place award from Geoguessr
'We're actually getting GeoGuessr on Steam before GTA 6': the Google Street View puzzler arrives on Valve's platform this April
Napster client circa 1999
Former music-pirating platform Napster to be reborn rather ironically as a metaverse for musicians to connect with their fans after $207 million deal
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node