When I joined the team in the Fall of 2020, I threw myself into the game, playing through the campaign and joining in multiplayer playtests. The first thing that struck me about Halo Infinite is how, in so many ways, it’s the realization of the vision we had for Halo 20 years ago when we were making the original games. That feeling of awe and wonder, the freedom to explore an expansive alien world and discover its secrets, all coming to life. Finally, the technology has caught up with the vision, and that’s hugely exciting for everyone at 343.

We also huddled up as a team and identified key areas of focus that we felt were important to finish the game strong and deliver an experience our fans are going to love. Since that time, we’ve been focusing hard on the elements that make Halo uniquely fun, while polishing and optimizing the game in preparation for launch on Xbox and PC. We’re not done yet, but we’re getting close. We can’t wait for you to finally play for yourselves.

Even though launch is a huge moment, it’s just the beginning of Halo Infinite’s Great Journey (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). A major focus for our team is the content we’ll deliver after the game has shipped, and work has already started on our first year of content — and beyond. You saw some examples of that effort in our Multiplayer Trailer, with tons of Spartan customization options that will be part of our very first season, “Heroes of Reach,” including a super-sweet Yoroi Spartan. And in case you were wondering, the Yoroi armor is free and you can unlock it just by playing events in Season 1.

When it comes to gameplay, our goal is to deliver a multiplayer experience that honors classic Halo combat while also offering new players the support needed to jump in and have a great time. To that end, we’re introducing the Spartan Academy and Spartan Commander Laurette who will help players familiarize themselves with maps, weapons, and equipment. We’re also introducing bot matches so players new and old can warm up before they hit the battlefield. We’ve got more in store for bots and Academy content over time that we look forward to rolling out as the game evolves.

And that gets at heart of our other focus, making Halo Infinite a game that will grow over time with the community. It’s incredibly important that all of you are partners in this journey, and we’re dedicated to listening to your feedback and continuing to improve the game over time. As we try new things and take risks, we’ll listen closely to the community to understand what players love and what we need to reexamine as we go forward. For the first time in franchise history, we’re getting a chance to really dig in and deliver new experiences for our players. Some things you might expect, like new maps and modes. But we might just have a few more surprises up our sleeves that you’ll see in the months following our launch this year.

What gets me the most excited about this journey we’re starting together is the fact that multiplayer is free to play, and how that gives us the opportunity to build the biggest Halo community ever. Also, with cross play and cross-platform progression, there are almost no barriers to enjoying the game with friends, regardless of where they play. It feels extra special to be able to grow the community and bring it together in this way.

Over the past several months, we’ve been taking fans behind the scenes with our Inside Infinite blog series, introducing faces from around the studio and telling stories behind how the game is made. This past year has been filled with challenges as well as successes for all of us. But we’re going to keep having open, candid conversations with our community, and keep you all in the loop on our progress as we make our most ambitious Halo game yet.

I also want to encourage everyone to head over to Halo Insider and sign up if you haven’t done so yet. We’ll be conducting technical previews this summer and signing up gives you a shot to be one of the first people to play the game, provide feedback and help ensure we have the best launch possible. We’ll have more details on the preview program soon, but for now, please sign up! We’re really excited for people outside the studio to play the game.

Lastly, while today is largely a celebration of Halo Infinite’s multiplayer experience, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also speak to those tantalizing bits of the campaign we shared during the showcase. We are continuing the story of the Master Chief and Cortana from Halo 5, but also telling a story that’s welcoming for new players. Cortana’s fate is one of the Infinite campaign’s big mysteries, and early in the story, you will meet a new UNSC AI, “the Weapon”, that was created to help stop Cortana. Together with the Pilot, the Master Chief, and the Weapon begin an epic adventure to explore Zeta Halo, defeat the Banished forces who control the ring, and unravel even more mysteries along the way.