Halo Infinite

Firefight: Gauntlet expanded Halo Infinite’s cooperative play with an arena-based mode for four Spartans. The November Halo Fest Showcase then added a community-map playlist with several ways to revisit multiplayer.

• Firefight: Gauntlet sends teams through five arenas with elimination objectives and upgradeable attributes as they fight waves of enemies.
• Operation: Infinite: The November 2025 operation added a 100-tier pass with armor and customization rewards, alongside a free progression option.
• Halo Fest Showcase: The November 2026 playlist featured community maps including Eulogy, Hierarch, Sanctum and Shade’s Promise. Its map-specific mode combinations gave players a new rotation of competitive encounters.

Invasion was Halo Infinite’s biggest multiplayer addition, bringing 8v8 asymmetrical matches, three phases, four objective types, and six maps. Operation: Infinite Pass launched with a 100-tier free track and Premium rewards, while Operation: Shadows added the Falcon, Vestige Carbine, and new playlists.

• Invasion: Operation: Warpath introduced the mode alongside the Ranked Legacy playlist.
  • Capture the Zone, Assault, Core Delivery, and Payload: supplied Invasion’s objective rotation.
  • Breakpoint, Crashout, Exhumed, Last Road, Recovery, and Wavelength: formed its six-map lineup.
  • Buddy Spawning: let players deploy on eligible teammates, with separate UNSC and Banished loadouts.
• Operation: Infinite Pass: delivered a 100-tier free pass with Serpin, Seeker, and Adamant armor sets, plus a Premium Pass with five more sets, six weapon models, and over 30 customizations. Yuletide and Vacancy also joined matchmaking.
• Operation: Shadows: added the Falcon, Vestige Carbine, Banished Slayer, and Famished Famished Falcons, along with the Lattice and Serenity ranked maps and free and Premium reward tracks.
• Firefight: Firefight Classic returned with shared lives, bonus rounds, extraction, and five maps including Alpha Site and House of Reckoning. Battle of the Academy introduced linear objectives and the Mutilator, while Survive the Undead returned with Station of the Lost, bonus drops, and Health, Damage, and Speed perks.
• Operation: Legacy: Delta Arena revived Halo 3-style rules, returning maps such as Guardian and Narrows with sprint and clamber disabled. Grifball also returned in Classic and Octane variants, including first- and third-person play.
• S&D Extraction, Extermination, and Forge: S&D Extraction launched as a 4v4 one-life mode with a points economy; Extermination added 4v4 team elimination; and Forge gained radial menus, custom input mapping, and new nodegraph elements.

Operation: Great Journey launched with Halo 2-themed content, including the Delta Arena playlist, the MA5K Avenger rifle, new Ranked maps, and third-person Firefight. It also expanded Forge and celebrated Halo 2’s 20th anniversary with a substantial set of new modes, customization, and creator tools.

• Operation: Great Journey:
  • Delta Arena recreated Halo 2 movement with no sprint or clamber, higher jumps, and friendly player collision.
  • MA5K Avenger added a fully automatic rifle with a high rate of fire and a larger magazine.
  • Fortress and Inquisitor joined Ranked play, with Inquisitor remaking Halo 2’s Midship.
  • Third-Person Firefight: King of the Hill added a switchable third-person perspective to Firefight.
• Free Operations: Banished Honor introduced a free 20-tier pass and The Exchange, where Spartan Points bought returning and new customization items; Spirit of Fire added the free Mark IV Armor Core and Forge Mode Creator.
• Multiplayer modes: Tenrai IV brought back Juggernaut and added Ninjanaut alongside community-made maps, while Fleetcom returned VIP, added Headhunter, and expanded Forge with Halo music and more than 1,000 Jeff Steitzer voice lines.
• Firefight and Forge content: Firefight: King of the Hill launched as a wave-based PvE mode with boss waves, revives, skull modifiers, and nine maps; Survive the Undead added an endless horde mode with perks, upgrade purchases, bonus drops, and the Station of the Lost map.
• Matchmaking and sandbox: Match Composer let players select preferred modes and team compositions, while the July sandbox overhaul retuned weapons including the Disruptor, Ravager, MA40 Assault Rifle, M392 Bandit, and Banshee. November tuning also adjusted the MK50 Sidekick, VK78 Commando, and Thruster.

Season 5: Reckoning launched on October 17, 2023, adding Extraction, Prism, Forbidden, the Forge AI Toolkit, and a 50-tier premium Battle Pass. It also introduced Flood-themed customization and the Operations system, which shifted longer-running event progression to Match XP.

• Season 5 systems: Extraction returned from Halo 4 with Arena and Ranked variants, while Forge AI Toolkit let creators place campaign enemies and build custom PvE experiences. The season also added AI difficulty and behavior modifiers, new Banished and winter Forge objects, and Flood customization.
• Season 4: Infection: Launched with Infection, military-style Career Rank progression based on Personal Score, and the Forest and Scarr maps. Quantum Translocator, Threat Seeker, Diminisher of Hope, and Infection-specific map variants expanded the sandbox.
• Season 3: Echoes Within: Added the M392 Bandit, Shroud Screen, Escalation Slayer, and the Oasis, Cliffhanger, and Chasm maps. Its paid 100-tier Battle Pass cost 1,000 Credits, while the free MIRAGE IIC and CHIMERA Armor Cores and PC ray tracing broadened the update.
• Forge and community play:
  • Custom Game Browser opened access to community-made maps and modes.
  • Husky Raid added linear Capture the Flag matches with randomized weapons.
  • Squad Battle introduced 8v8 matches on community-created maps.
  • Halo 3 Refueled refreshed classic Halo 3 maps for matchmaking, including Banished Narrows, Cliffside, Critical Dewpoint, Domicile, High Ground, and Isolation.
• Combat tuning: Bandit EVO became Ranked’s starting weapon and received recoil, bloom, rate-of-fire, and ammunition adjustments. Threat Sensor, Disruptor, Dynamo Grenade, and Spike Grenade also received sandbox tuning.
• Operation: Combined Arms: Launched with the first Operation and a free 20-tier Operation Pass, while progression used Match XP and the pass remained available for roughly four to six weeks.

Halo Infinite celebrated its first anniversary with the launch of Campaign Network Co-Op and Forge Beta on November 8, 2022, allowing players to experience the campaign with friends and unleash their creativity through advanced map editing tools. Additionally, Season 2: Lone Wolves launched on May 3, introducing new maps, modes, and a Premium Battle Pass.

• Campaign Co-Op Launch: Players could team up with up to three friends in the campaign, sharing progress and experiences.
  • Forge Beta: Released on November 8, this beta introduced powerful editing tools, six canvas maps, and visual scripting features for community creations.
• New Maps and Modes: Season 2 added Catalyst and Breaker maps, along with new modes like King of the Hill, Land Grab, and Last Spartan Standing.
• Battle Pass Updates: A new 30-tier Battle Pass was introduced with Halo: Reach-inspired items, and the Winter Update brought a free 30-tier Battle Pass that never expires.
• Gameplay Enhancements: The Match XP Beta was implemented, allowing players to earn XP based on match performance instead of challenges. The CSR Progression Algorithm was overhauled to prioritize team performance in ranked matches.
• Seasonal Events: The Yappening Event featured the Methane Menagerie playlist, while the Fracture: Entrenched event offered new cosmetics and a free Event Pass.