Halo Studios is rumored to be working on both a remake ofHalo: Combat Evolvedand a sequel toHalo Infinite,colloquially known asHalo 7. While these projects haven’t been officially announced or confirmed, it’s generally expected thatHalo Studiosis striving to produce moreHalotitles as the franchise nears its 25th anniversary.
However, Halo Studios could still develop more games and stories from the groundwork ofHalo Infinitein the same vein as The Coalition’s upcoming prequel,Gears of War: E-Day. This game is expected to flesh out a well-known era ofGearsfor the first time in game form, and Halo Studios could do the same with aHalo Infiniteprequel set during Master Chief’s six-month-long absence before his rescue by Echo-216.
Events Following Halo Infinite’s Prologue Explained
Halo Infinitestarts with the UNSC Infinity being ambushed and boarded by Banished forces near Zeta Halo, with Master Chief himself being launched into space bythe Banished’s leader, Atriox. Shortly after Master Chief’s defeat, Atriox traveled to Zeta Halo and confronted Cortana, who subsequently sacrificed herself, destroying the ring’s Silent Auditorium, fracturing the ring’s surface, and initiating an emergency slipspace jump of the installation and its orbiting debris and ships to an unknown location. For the next six months, UNSCInfinity survivors would struggle to survive and regroup on the ring as the remaining Banished forces began to establish a dominating, permanent presence on the installation. Several events during this time can be heard about inInfinite’s various audio logs.
In conjunction withHalo Infinite’s audio logs andthe novelHalo: The Rubicon Protocol, much of Zeta Halo’s history during those six months is known. While many UNSC survivors were promptly killed, tortured, and even eaten by Banished forces, several surviving Spartan-IVs attempted to establish a unifying coalition of survivors to hold out as long as they could for reinforcements and to sabotage Banished developments. This coalition was led by Spartan Hudson Griffin of Fireteam Taurus, who established a base for survivors in the wreckage of the frigate UNSC Mortal Reverie. While this coalition successfully conducted several guerrilla operations against the Banished, it quickly fell after a failed assassination attempt on Banished War Chief Escharum wherein Griffin was captured and most of the UNSC forces at Mortal Reverie were killed by Chieftain Tremonius.
The Status of UNSC Remnants on Zeta Halo and Beyond
Following the fall of the Mortal Reverie, most remaining UNSC personnel and Spartans were either killed or scattered throughout the ring to hide. Remaining active Spartans initiated the Rubicon Protocol, wherein their only goal was to stop Banished operations and protect Earth at all costs. Spartan-IVs Tomas Horvath, Nina Kovan, and a few other survivors managed to send a distress signal to UNSC space with help from monitor 117649 Despondent Pyre before being teleported to unknown sections of the ring. It’s currently unknown if the UNSC received Zeta Halo’s message, as most of the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios fleets had to deal with a Banished attack on Earth and stop both the Banished and Covenant remnants from accessing the Domain following Cortana’s death, as seen inthe novelHalo: Empty Throne.
The Potential of Multiple Halo Infinite Spin-Off Games
WhileHalo Infinitenever received any campaign DLC, Halo Studios could still produce prequel spin-off games based on interesting events set afterInfinite’s prologue to tell interesting stories and to potentially set up pivotal events forHalo 7. The fall of the UNSC Infinity and the disappearance of Zeta Halo are important events in theHalouniverse that deserve to be followed up beyond books and Halo Waypoint Chronicles. One potential spin-off game could have players embody Spartans Griffin, Horvath, and Kovan as they struggle to unite UNSC survivors and fend off Banished forces, including the deadlyHand of Atriox. This would allow Halo Studios to reuse much ofInfinite’s setting and gameplay mechanics while still being able to tell a grounded underdog story.
Alternatively, Halo Studios could develop a game focused on other parts of theHalouniverse during Master Chief’s six-month absence afterHalo Infinite’s prologue. This could be a game focusing on Agent Locke’s status during and after Operation: BREAKER TRIP, explaining how Hand of Atriox member Hyperius got his armor. Similarly, Halo Studios could develop a game following Shipmaster Rtas ‘Vadum and Spartan-II Jai-006’s battles against the Banished and Covenant remnants, similar in gameplay toHalo 2. Halo Studios could even make a prequel game centered onCaptain Thomas Laskyand the status of the UNSC Infinity, with both currently being MIA. All of these events could make for both greatHalogames and help set up the UNSC’s inevitable triumph on Zeta Halo alongside Master Chief inHalo 7.
Besides 2013’sHalo: Spartan Assaultand 2018’sHalo: Fireteam Raven, there hasn’t been a mainline prequelHalogame since2010’sHalo: Reach.
