Halo Infinite‘s already kickass-sounding second season is starting to sound even more kickass. Developer 343 Industries detailed all the new modes along the way in a blog post today, including one that sounds suspiciously like a battle royale.
Halo Infinite‘S second season, which rolls out next month, is set to boost the multiplayer shooter in total. Two new cards, the small Catalyst and the large Breaker, will be added to the rotation. These are in addition to a lot of new cosmetics along with a match pass that allows you to earn premium currency to spend on said cosmetics (or potentially the premium match pass for follow season). Meanwhile, weekly challenges are being reviewed to remove the bullshit emblems, backgrounds and other rewards that no one cares about.
Read more: After months of disappointment, Halo Infinite Is getting a whole lot better
First, and what I personally am most excited about is the addition of King of the Hill. Long time glory mode, King of the Hill has two teams pushing over control of a predetermined zone to see who can hang on to the far-right standard thing. Infinite however, shakes that condition up. Instead of a timer, the conquest of the hill now runs on a meter. When a team fills a meter up a hill, they score a point and the hill that everyone wants to catch jumps to another part of the map. 343 did not detail how many points it takes to win a round. (You will still be able to access the proven classic King of the Hill in custom battles.)
Land Grab is another zone control mode and new in the series. At the start of each round, three neutral zones appear around the map. The first team to catch all three gets one point, but unlike Strongholds – the second current zone control mode in Halo Infinite‘s casual playlist – once a zone is captured, it can not be recaptured by the opposing team. Takes 11 points to win the round.
King of the Hill will join Halo Infinite‘s standard Quick Play and Ranked Playlists at launch, while Land Grab will be an event mode about a month after the start of the season. Dedicated playlists to the classic Team Doubles (multiple teams of two meet up in a deathmatch), Team Snipers (standard team deathmatch, but both teams spawn with sniper rifles), and Rumble modes will cycle in and out through Infinite‘s second season, which will also launch with three new modes that are just the type of thing I would come up with if Halo Infinites custom match actually allowed full customization:
- Vampireball: It’s like Oddball except that the person holding the ball is not useless. You can kill enemies with one melee attack (hell yes), which also boosts your shield by 50% – even if it’s already full.
- Ninja Slayer: You spawn with an energy sword and a grappleshot (Infinite‘S Zippy fighting hook). It’s the only equipment you’ll find on the map, too.
- Rocket launchers: Same thing, except with rocket launchers and launchers. Remember, you can use the repulsor to deflect rockets!
Which brings us to “not battle royale, but also a little battle royale”, a whole new mode called Last Spartan Standing. Last Spartan Standing, located on the four Big Team Battle Cards, is a 12-player free-for-all elimination contest. Each player has five lives, and once you’re out, you’re out. You start with a lower weapon, but if you score a kill, you can go up to a higher level – deter people from just hiding in a corner. (There is also a constricting “danger zone” that helps with that.) And random weapon drops occur through rounds.
So yes, it’s not one clean battle generous. (It lives things, for example. And 12 players is nothing about the scope of competitors like Fortnite, Peakor PUBG.) But it is close to one, and it certainly gives fire on the fire that Halo Infinite is on its way to having a legit Battle Royale feature.
Right now the studio is Certain Affinity – which has been working in partnership with 343 since the days of Halo: Combat Evolved Remaster at the moment working on an unnamed project to Halo Infinite. This has sent fans into a whirlwind of speculation. Earlier this month, computer amateurs uncovered files suggesting it Halo infinite could have modes with 100 players (this sweet-spot battle royale player counts). If Halo infinite is to get a fight royale state, it is obviously far from. But now that all the elements are set to actually exist in the shooter, it seems less like a dream than ever before.