In spite of everything that's happened over the last few months, Halo Infinite still arguably remains one of the most anticipated Xbox releases. Marking the long-awaited return of the beloved franchise, Halo Infinite seeks to return Halo to its roots, but sadly, a lack of official information from 343 Industries has led to a ton of rumors, with some even claiming that Halo Infinite will include a battle royale mode.
Battle royale games have certainly made a significant impact on the gaming community, with games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds attaining huge success. Considering that, some Halo fans started to speculate that a battle royale mode would be added to Halo Infinite's multiplayer, but one of 343 Industries' community managers quickly shot that down.
343 Industries Community Manager Brian Jarrard, who also served as PR, community, and marketing lead at Bungie from Halo 2 to Halo Reach, shot down the rumors of an online battle royale mode and referred to them as "unfounded." At the same time, Jarrard did acknowledge that the lack of news from 343 did fuel some of the rampant speculation.
Jarrard goes on to say how both 343 and Microsoft have provided very little news since Halo Infinite was delayed back in August. He reported that the studio is currently in the process of putting together an end of year update. It's unclear if this will be through official Xbox channels or part of an event like The Game Awards, but the prospect should be exciting to fans nonetheless.
Any news is better than no news, but 343 has a lot of potential items that it could reveal. The studio could confirm a new release date for the game if those plans have been solidified, or it could show new gameplay, highlighting what visual changes have been made since the original footage debuted earlier this year.
In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months in terms of Halo Infinite. Perhaps Microsoft will hold another digital event similar to the one that was held back in July when Halo Infinite's gameplay was unveiled. Phil Spencer already commented on Halo Infinite's launch delay during a podcast several days ago, so hopefully, it's just a matter of time before 343 Industries or Microsoft makes an official update.
Halo Infinite is currently in development.