The Halo Infinite Spin-Off Games Fans Want The Most
One of the strongest aspects of "Halo" as a series has always been its expansive universe, which has been fleshed out with deep lore and fun characters. That universe was slowly built upon by each new game, giving fans just a peek behind the curtain of the greater universe surrounding Master Chief's fight. The remainder of the world has also been expanded by the books, movies, and comics that detail the myriad conflicts and people that influenced the world before and between the games.
With the sheer quantity of rich lore and a sense of history that has yet to be explored in a video game, the series is ripe with untapped potential for "Halo" spin-offs and titles. Now, with "Halo Infinite" released and recent leaks pointing towards two spin-offs being in development (per GameByte), longtime fans have some ideas of where they hope the series goes next. Here are some of the "Halo Infinite" spinoffs that fans are longing for most.
Halo ODST 2
"Halo 3: ODST" was the first spin-off in the series, released shortly after "Halo 3." The game followed a team of troopers dropped into the ruins of the city New Mombasa and separated after their drop went wrong. The game was a big hit with fans because of how it mixed up the usual gameplay for the series. Its campaign was made up of open world segments that allowed the player to explore the city and piece together what happened to the rest of their squad through flashbacks. Meanwhile, combat situations felt much more hectic and vulnerable, since players don't play as Spartans.
Now that "Halo Infinite" has released with its even larger open world design, fans have started hoping for another spin-off similar to "ODST" (per Game Rant). With a map comparable in size to "Infinite" and the new game's Banished faction to fight, this would be a fantastic way for players to see them from a more terrifying and grounded perspective. This approach would also allow the developers to explore a new part of the lore between "Halo 5" and "Halo Infinite," even possibly filling in the gaps of the story.
Space combat
Another impressively fleshed-out aspect of "Halo" lore concerns the ships and munitions of each faction. The UNSC and Covenant have intricately designed corvettes, destroyers, and numerous other space vessels that each have fleshed out capabilities and roles. This has led to some fans hoping for a strategy spin-off that lets players take control of fleets of space craft in massive battles and conflicts.
A spin-off of this nature would also easily be integrated into the timeline, with the original war between the Covenant and humanity being the perfect setting for its gameplay. This setting could take two approaches: allow players to experience first-hand the storied battles and history of some of the series' most iconic ships or give players a more open experience.
If players are given more freedom, the spin-off could take a bigger strategic approach, complete with managing resources and fighting for control of specific planets and colonies, all in the name of trying to stop the Covenant from finding Earth. It could also support a large multiplayer community. Imagine giving players multiple factions to choose from, each with their own fleet options and mechanics.
A Flood horror game
One of the most memorable and terrifying parts of the entire "Halo" series is the introduction of the Flood in the very first game. "Halo: Combat Evolved" suddenly snaps from a science fiction shooter about killing hordes of alien to missions of survival-horror. Players have to escape the zombie-like onslaught of the Flood, creatures that overwhelm living beings and infect them and bind them to their will. They infect entire environments with their flesh-like growths and attach themselves to corpses like tumors.
The Flood are an iconic enemy faction in the series, one that fans have been calling to fuel a survival horror spin-off ever since. The Flood are ripe for exploration in such a setting, especially if the game were to place players in the shoes of a regular citizen or soldier within the UNSC. It could show players an entirely different perspective and play into the fear that non-Spartans feel from the Flood. Whether it plays more like "Dead Space" or "Alien Isolation," this could work as a fantastic opportunity for the developers to show a different side of the universe for a unique experience ripe with potential.
A gritter, more realistic Halo
Fans have also called for a grittier take on the "Halo" universe. A spin-off like this would again likely have to feature a non-Spartan player character, but there are a number of potential mechanics and elements that it could include. Fan discussions have wished for a game that would prioritize stealth, focusing more possibly even focusing more on avoiding enemies and gathering supplies. It could also take advantage of the open world structure of "Halo Infinite" to allow players to explore a city freely as they tackle missions in their preferred order.
A grittier spin-off would also allow the developers to add more grounded mechanics, like status effects for damaged limbs or other injuries. This would help make it feel more like they're struggling to survive the situation, rather than just running through regular "Halo" missions. It could also allow players to invest the resources they get from playing and completing objectives in building up a camp of survivors. A game like this would also be ripe for co-op play, working as a team navigating the open world and sharing resources to prepare for how they decide to approach missions.
A narrative detective game
Veta Lopis is a fan-favorite character from the expanded "Halo" universe who became the top criminal investigator on the planet Gao. While Lopis had never had any appearance or much of an impact on the games, her story could be adapted to one very well. This is why some "Halo" fans have called for a spin-off centered around Lopis that focuses on her detective exploits.
As fans have noted, a narrative-focused detective game could take a few different forms. One with a lot of potential could be similar to Telltale Games' episode fairy-tale mystery "The Wolf Among Us." This would allow the developers to stick to the established narrative and lore that players already know while still allowing them to piece together the clues and possibly even have consequences to their actions and decisions.
The game could also follow in the footsteps of something like "L.A. Noire," featuring a more linear experience that tells Lopis' story in a cinematic light with players piecing together the investigations through interviews, evidence gathering, and deduction.
Covenant RPG
Although players explored the Arbiter's point of view during certain missions in "Halo 2," the Covenant's culture and perspective has been largely underutilized in the series. That fact would make exploring it through a Covenant-centric RPG such a great opportunity to give fans something new. The game could take place within the massive Holy City and could allow players to make a custom character from the numerous races within the Covenant, each with their own special traits and proficiencies.
The player's character could be further customized through their abilities and equipment. Players could choose to go invisible with an energy sword in a melee build, use a Jackal's energy shield for a more defense-based build, or equip a gravity hammer and jetpack to smash groups of enemies into dust.
An RPG like this would likely work better as a single-player experience that allowed players to approach open quests from a variety of angles.
Headhunters
Headhunters are the most elite of the Spartan order. This group has been selected for their exceptional bravery and skill and receive extra training to be sent on the most dangerous of missions. Each Headhunter has a unique set of abilities and equipment that they bring to the table, and are usually deployed in groups of two. With how much personality each Headhunter has and the level of danger in their work, it is no wonder that fans have hoped for a Headhunters-focused spin-off for a long time.
To differentiate the spin-off from other "Halo" games and the titles on this list, a Headhunters spin-off could work exceptionally well as a live service title akin to "Destiny 2" or "Marvel's Avengers." This would allow players to level up each individual character, upgrading their abilities and kits with powerful gear as they play through different tasks and team-based missions. A spin-off like this could also receive seasonal updates to continue its story, add new characters to play, and swap out the stable of available missions.
The Arbiter's Rise
Another major part of the story of "Halo" that has yet to be explored is what happens to the Arbiter after the events of "Halo 3." The Arbiter is met during "Halo 5" as he fights the final battles of a civil war on Sanghelios, home world of the elites. There, it is revealed that the Arbiter rose through the ranks to be a leader to his people and led them in a campaign against multiple opposing factions. How this was done, however, has never been exlpored, leaving fans pining for an explanation.
This particular story could take a few different forms. it is very possible that it could serve as another first-person shooter, just with a few new elements introduced for the sake of playing the Arbiter. However, the Arbiter's story would perhaps be better served with strategic elements. One of the more interesting parts of this story is the Arbiter's efforts to unite the elites and lead them in the war. In an Arbiter-centric RTS game, players to build up their bases, conduct diplomacy, and strategize throughout the campaign to achieve victory. Of course, "Halo" already has the "Halo Wars" games as its entry in the strategy genre, but this game could explore a larger 4X turn-based approach that would be wholly distinct from what came before.
Blue Team
The soldiers of Blue Team have been heavily documented in the "Halo" novels and are prime candidates for their own game — and fans have definitely noticed.
The story of Blue Team begins with the soldiers fighting human insurgents and pirates before eventually being made into Spartans due to their exhibited valor and skill. This arc presents a unique opportunity within the "Halo" universe for the game's campaign to start with players taking the role of a weaker soldier before getting a serious upgrade towards the end of the campaign to become Spartans and kill the Unyielding Hydrophant.
The nature of Blue Team as a family of soldiers would also lend itself well to adopting the character-based loadouts from "Halo 5: Guardians." At the start of each mission, players could pick which character to play and take advantage of their unique abilities and weapons. If the team has to split up, the game could even allow players to play as various characters through different segments of the missions. This could help to expand the replayability of the campaign while also allowing players to cater the gameplay to their preferences.
Halo Mega Bloks: The Game
While such a game technically existed at one time before being canceled in production, many fans still hope for a "Halo" Mega Construx (or Mega Bloks) game that takes inspiration from the popular LEGO games. With the "LEGO Star Wars" games returning in 2022, it seems like a prime time to explore the idea of a "Halo" equivalent. After all, raw footage of the original canceled game has been recovered over the years, and fans have responded positively to what might have been.
It is easy to imagine a sense of humor being injected into the typically serious world of "Halo" as the game re-tells the stories of the series in abbreviated ways. Players could control a range of characters with their own fun gimmicks. Cortana could hack open doors and extend light bridges. Arbiter could turn invisible to sneak through hostile forces, Sergeant Johnson could rally nearby marines and lead them into battle, and different versions of Master Chief could deploy Bubble Shields, grapple to high areas, and wield various weapons. It almost feels like this is a game that builds itself.
Halo in the style of XCOM
Another genre that seems perfect to support a "Halo" title is a tactical turn-based squad game in the vein of "XCOM." This is a game that fans have daydreamed about for some time and could be structured around players running a UNSC ship like the Pillar of Autumn. From there, they could train different Spartans, craft better equipment for them, and upgrade their ship to give them support from the skies. The game could also take advantage of using various suits of Mjolnir armor and equipment to specialize Spartans with different abilities and actions to adapt to each mission's challenges.
This spin-off could also incorporate the permadeath mechanic that has become a staple of this sub-genre, which would raise the tension and make players more invested in each of their unique Spartans. That way when they die, players will actively miss them and will have to adapt to completing a mission or two without their specialty. The game could also take advantage of the range of weapons and vehicles in the arsenal of "Halo" with Spartans being more proficient with heavy weapons, Warthogs, explosives, and other tactics.
Halo Squad-Based RPG
Ever since the massive success of BioWare's "Mass Effect" series, "Halo" fans have hoped for a similar experience in the series' unique universe. There are a number of diverse alien species, conflicts, histories, and locations that players could explore with branching dialogue trees and a mix of action of diplomacy. This particular game would perhaps be best set after the events of "Halo 3," so that the war between the Covenant and humans has come to an end. As some fans have suggested, the story could revolve around players recruiting crew members from various species, all in the name of facing down a new threat.
As the player progressed through this game, they could also level up their own character and their squad mates to improve their abilities and take on greater challenges. An elite soldier could hack enemy shields, a jackal could snipe high value targets from a distance for big damage, and a hunter could deliver an enemy-stunning ground pound, just to name a few possibilities. A game like this also would be able to give the player more agency than fans are used to in the series as they interact with different factions, achieve unique mission results, and try to save as many people as possible.
A Colony Sim
A very important part of the conflict between the UNSC and the Covenant is that the aliens have the technology to "glass" worlds — burning the planet to a crisp with plasma weapons — and are more than willing to do so. Doing so also abuses technology that humans can only dream of having at their disposal. However, the extended "Halo" lore has revealed that glassing a planet doesn't necessarily mean the end, leading fans to hope for a game in which they get to bring one back to life. This would seem to be a prime setting for a "Halo" colony sim that tasks players with returning to a glassed planet to build a new home.
Obviously, doing so would not come without an extensive list of challenges. Players would have to find scarce resources, develop new technologies, and protect colonists from the various natural and unnatural dangers on the planet. They may also have to engage diplomatically with other factions for supplies and support as they work to create a new life.
A Different Breed of Shooter
While "Halo" is already an absolute titan in the first-person shooter space, its setting could also easily support a different type of shooter that would satisfy fans who want modes like Big Team Battle to get even bigger. In theory, this spin-off that fans have hoped for would look quite similar to "Star Wars: Battlefront" (minus all the microtransactions). A "Halo" game in this vein would put scale as the utmost priority. Massive maps could hold matches of dozens players with Scorpions shelling buildings, Wraiths transporting squads, and Warthogs weaving through the streets.
When players spawn in they would be able to pick from a handful of classes, build turrets and defenses, or take on enemies head-on. Online matches could focus on objective-based modes like the popular Invasion of "Halo: Reach," only with a sense of size that "Halo" has never seen. This would allow players to take full advantage of all the weapons, vehicles, and diverse locations in the series.
The Flood Returns
The final spin-off that fans have called for again sees the Flood taking center stage. However, rather than making the player fear them more than ever before in a survival horror title, this spin-off could use the hive mentality of the Flood to create a co-op horde shooter like "Left 4 Dead" and "Back 4 Blood." The game could approach the story from multiple angles, but one of the most compelling would be to feature a specialized team of Spartans who are trained and built to exterminate any incursions from the Flood.
This team could be sent to a newly discovered Ring that has become infected with the parasitic species. There, players could embark in teams on various missions that change slightly every time they are played, with the goal being to discover how the Flood was released and to stop the spread. Much like the various zombie types in the aforementioned co-op shooters, this game could also introduce more types of Flood to the lore to keep things fresh and introduce new mechanics.
This set-up would also open the door to competitive multiplayer, with teams of players facing off to see who can perform the best during missions. Maybe some players could even control the Flood directly. In the "Halo" universe, the possibilities are practically endless.