Halo Infinite Season 2: New Game Modes
By Brigid Drake
Earlier today, 343 Industries posted a tweet on the official Halo account showing off a new promotional video for Halo Infinite Season 2, which launches on May 3. The video shows off three new game modes coming to Infinite, with two of them familiar, and one of them new.
Halo Infinite Season 2: New Game Modes
There are three new game modes coming to Halo Infinite in season 2: King of the Hill, Land Grab, and Last Spartan Standing. Two of these modes will be familiar to long-time Halo players. King of the Hill has been a part of the series since Halo: Combat Evolved, which was released in 2001; Land Grab will remind players of Territories from Halo 2 and Halo 3. The only game mode that truly stands out as completely new is Last Spartan Standing, a free-for-all mode where every player will have to fend for themselves. With how common Battle Royale modes have been in multiplayer games, it's no surprise Halo Infinite is joining in on the trend as well.
On the Halo Waypoint website, Alex Wakeford, community writer at 343 Industries, talks with Zach Boyce, a Multiplayer Modes and Systems Designer for Halo Infinite, about the inspiration for changes and new modes being introduced. Boyce's job is to create a paper design that he will then prototype with coworkers. He had this to say about working on the King of the Hill mode:
"As with something like Capture the Flag, King of the Hill is a long-time classic—so the paper design part is a bit different compared to a fresh mode with a blank canvas. The core of the mode needs to feel the same; it should strain the same skillsets as the classic mode and drive home the same objective fantasy as its predecessor."
In regards to the new Last Spartan Standing game mode, Boyce says this game mode was designed with the season theme of "Lone Wolves" in mind. He also talks in-depth about how Last Spartan Standing attempts to bring a different kind of experience players have not had in previous Halo games.
A long-time Halo player himself, Boyce goes into the process of working on these game modes familiar with the struggles and frustrations players have felt, which hopefully means some of the work on these game modes has been in good hands.