Halo Infinite‘s next Operation goes live in a few days, and tomorrow Halo Studios will host a community livestream to discuss it. I’m always excited for more PvE content, so this operation seems like it will deliver!

Ready up, Spartan. Humanity isn't going to save itself ?

Join our Community Livestream on May 2 to learn more about Battle of the Academy, the upcoming linear firefight playlist in Halo Infinite.#OperationLastStand pic.twitter.com/iBxXxNHeF0

— Halo (@Halo) April 30, 2025

(fuchsdh 15:38:28 +0000)

The next Halo Infinite operation, Forerunner, is out. If you liked the Forerunner armor in Halo 4, you’ll appreciate the armor pieces this time, but it also comes with new game modes and maps (the Flood Gulch naming is wonderful.) Check out the trailer and play it before it goes away in May. (fuchsdh 17:20:46 +0000)

In an epic 46-minute jumpathon, Spasmodic recreates and augments his old videos, using the Xbox 360 to bring things to a common visual standard, amounting to a “clean, clear, and unified anthology” of his multifarious jumpy exploits. And I must say, he does seem to’ve got the hang of that rocket launcher by now:

(Rockslider 20:05:12 +0000)

The latest operation for Halo Infinite, Blue Team, is live and runs until April 8. Like the name implies, the operation adds Halo 5-style Blue Team cosmetics, but it also features the addition of a classic survival Firefight experience on some Forged remakes from ODST. Check it out in the trailer below: (fuchsdh 14:50:44 +0000)

Sometimes I’m amazed this site is still online; it launched in 1999, more than a quarter-century ago, and although it’s not quite as lively as it once was, it’s still visited by people who love the Halo franchise and love the creations that have been brought into being via that franchise. I have thousands of good memories associated with this site and its community… but few are as cherished as the lanfest I was invited to in 2001, where we celebrated the final chemo treatment of Brian Morden. (If you don’t recognize the name, type it into the search bar here; there are plenty of links.) We honor him every February 15, with a symbol on this website… but today I listened to a podcast where his best childhood friend, Brian Johnson, remembered him and his contribution to the Halo universe, and I was reminded, again, how powerful hope can be. (It really couldn’t have come at a better time, so huge thanks to Brian – well, both Brians – to the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast, and to Adam Daniel, who brought it to my attention.) Go listen. it’s a great story. (Louis Wu 17:01:36 +0000)

The Spring Update of Halo Infinite is coming in February ( that’s a seriously loose definition of spring!) Halo Waypoint has all the deets in a long blog post with an accompanying YouTube VOD of the community livestream. There’s a fuel rod-infused rocket launcher, the return of Assault, weapon tweaks, and more. Check it out! (fuchsdh 01:16:12 +0000)

Mint Blitz has an 8-minute video round-up of some new Halo developments. And apparently “fun has returned”. Topics include mini-games in Halo Infinite (Duck Hunt, anyone?), plus some Halo 2 restoration work in the form of a Sanctuary “Tech Demo”, featuring some very nice Tomb Raider style surroundings. Not that Lara Croft was actually present, but she definitely wouldn’t have looked out of place:

(Rockslider 15:17:08 +0000)

Putting a new spin on an old activity, Spasmodic recently took the time to collect and neatly arrange 23 vehicles on a beam at the start of AOTCR, with the aid of a few skulls. Check out his creative parking skills, and read his video blurb for details:

(Rockslider 12:15:53 +0000)

BOLL dropped by in the forum with a rundown on the newly released Halo VR mod by LivingFray. Specifically it’s a VR conversion of the original PC version of Halo: Combat Evolved. While there are certainly some issues, it seems to be getting an enthusiastic welcome from fans who’ve long wanted such a thing. Check out the video below for example, featuring gameplay in the first two levels. Also, BOLL has been streaming gameplay on Twitch, if you care to catch some of that.

(Rockslider 07:29:26 +0000)

As Halo 2‘s 20th anniversary passes us by, so does a bunch of press coverage. Halo Studios has been celebrating in Infinite, in MCC, and on Waypoint, but among the press recollections there were two I found worth a read.

• On IGN, Ryan McCaffrey has his remembrances of reviewing the game at Bungie, and Max Hoberman shares some details on map development.
• Rolling Stone has an interview with Robert and Lorraine McLees that touches on the origins of the Flood, Lorraine’s efforts to make Chief a focus of marketing Halo 2, and more.

(fuchsdh 17:53:49 +0000)

In a joint effort with Halo Studios and marking Halo 2’s 20th anniversary, Digsite has released a playable restoration of the game’s E3 2003 demo, for MCC PC. Not sure how off-script you can go to tackle things in different ways, but multiple playthroughs are already up on YouTube, such as the one below, and the mod includes a ‘Playground’ version of the level which allows free roaming of the city. There’s also co-op support. All in all, seems like an impressive job and a must-have for any Halo 2 fan! Thanks, MangoOfDoom.

(Rockslider 14:25:25 +0000)

Polygon reports that the soundtracks to the first three games (minus the licensed tracks of 2, sorry Breaking Benjamin fans) are coming to vinyl, either a la carte or in a monster eight-LP box set. I don’t have a turntable, but the new cover art by longtime concept artist Isaac Hannaford is a nice touch. (fuchsdh 20:45:58 +0000)

MisterMonopoli has been busy with co-op on the original Xbox lately (no mods involved). After various short teaser videos in which one player has somehow become something other than a cyborg, he now has a tutorial for becoming a gold Elite, so you can run about shouting “Wort wort wort” and swishing a plasma sword around. I mean, if that’s what you really want. The detailed workings of this digital sorcery will hopefully be elucidated later, but meanwhile here’s the tutorial (you’ll also want to read the description for guidance):

(Rockslider 13:55:46 +0000)

Some big news today: Halo is moving to Unreal Engine, and 343 Industries is rebranding to Halo Studios. You can hear more watching the Vidoc below: (fuchsdh 23:39:11 +0000)

If you’ve ever wanted to sail the high seas and fight the Covenant along the way, the new Halo 3 mod from InfernoPlus may be the ticket to your dreams. With Captain Johnson at the helm, Pimps at Sea takes you to multiple tropical islands and features such novelties as boat-hogs, amphibious Ghosts, and a boss battle between a pirate ship and a Scarab. Whether a work of inspired imagination or the result of someone going way too heavy on the rum, it’s surely worth a look. And above all, it provides an excellent excuse for grown men to wear pirate hats while videogaming. So what are you waiting for? Swash your buckles and cast off the anchor! Thanks, Hyokin.

(Rockslider 19:50:35 +0000)