The Great Journey is nigh! As Halo 2 marks its twentieth birthday this monthOperation: Great Journey has arrived to bring the celebrations to Halo Infinitekicking off the 2024 Winter Update.

New weapon and sandbox updatesnew Halo 2-inspired playlist with a selection of fan-favorite maps (and Halo 2- gameplay adjustments)new Operation PassForge updatesand so much more. Let’s get you briefed on everything the Winter Update is bringing to Halo Infinite today!

(Click the image below to watch the Operation: Great Journey launch trailer.)

• Operation: Great Journey
• MA5K Avenger
• Playlist Updates
• Forge Updates
• Sandbox Updates
• Shop
• The Exchange
• Waypoint Chronicle
• Halo Support
• Press Kit

“Forwardwarriorsand fear not pain or death!”

A new Operation means a free 20-tier Operation Pass. Earn progress with Match XP and you will unlock the Thremaleon armor setinspired by the iconic and beloved Rtas ‘Half-Jaw” ‘Vadum—former Special Operations commander of the Covenant and current legendary shipmaster of Shadow of Intent.

Custom crafted by the Kolaar Manufactorumthis armor is given to Spartans that have been selected to serve alongside Swords of Sanghelios special forces.

Upgrade to the Premium Pass to secure the Veteran SRS99 weapon modelbased on Halo 2’s sniper rifleand Damascus Alchemy weapon coating. The Premium Pass comes with an additional Challenge Slotbonus XPand never expires.

• 500 credits will make the Operation Pass durable (it will not expire)offers bonus XP during the Operation’s live windowan extra Challenge slot while your pass is equippedand comes with an exclusive customization item.
• 2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers of the Operation Pass at purchase and includes the exclusive bonus customization item.

“I need a weapon.”

Originally seen on the cover of Halo: Ghosts of Onyxwielded by Spartan-III super-soldiersthe MA5K has come to Halo Infinite.

A fully automatic rifle with a high rate-of-fire and increased magazine size manufactured by Misriah Armorythe MA5K Avenger is highly effective at short range. It boasts a large60-round magazine sizeand its ready-up and reload time is faster compared to other rifles in the game. If you’re looking to enhance a run-and-gun of gameplaythe MA5K Avenger is the weapon for you.

Time to put it to good useSpartans!

“Get tacticalMarines!”

DELTA ARENA

A new dedicated Halo 2-inspired playlist has arrivedfeaturing classic maps and movement. Here are some of the settings that have been adjusted to recreate that old gameplay feel.

• Sprint: Disabled
• Clamber: Disabled
• Jump Height: 120%
• Starting Weapon: MA5K Avenger
• Secondary Weapon: None
• Friendly Player Collision: On

The Delta Arena playlist brings us back to beloved battlefields from the past which have been remade in Forge.

ASCENSION
Credit: bullet2thehead9DISTORTED JAKALMikRips

You miss those games of Tower of Power toohuh?

BEAVER CANYON
Credit: UneeQMr GreencastleAzwilko1997MikRips

Playable beavers confirmed?

BOULEVARD
Credits: UneeQMr GreencastleArtNoobMikRips

This is our turf!

CANOPY
Credits: UneeQMr GreencastleMikRipsArtNoob

That oldfamiliar feeling...

CONJURER
Credits: MikRipsbullet2thehead9DISTORTED JAKAL

A wizardwarlockand warlord walk into a bar...

INQUISITOR
Credits: UneeQMr GreenCastleMikRipsArtNoobWookieCookies

A place for the pious. There's nothing "mid" about Midship!

SERENITY
Credits: UneeQMr GreencastleMikRips

A sanctuary of the ancients.

THIRD-PERSON FIREFIGHT

Bip. Bap. Bam! Welcome back to Firefight: King of the Hillthings might look a little different to what you’re used to...

In a throwback to Halo’s pre-Xbox rootsjump into Firefight: King of the Hill and you will experience Halo from a rather different perspective: third-person.

Third-person gameplay hasof coursealways been part of Halo by varying degrees—such as when operating vehiclesturretsand certain heavy weapons—but it has never been part of the moment-to-moment gameplay.

Available in matchmaking today are the following modes:

• Firefight: King of the Hill
• Fiestafight: King of the Hill
• Gruntpocalypse: King of the Hill
• Gruntpocalypse Fiesta: King of the Hill

The maps will be familiar territorybut seen from a new angle as you navigate and battle the Banished in third-person. For the full listas well as additional detailscheck out our Playlist Overview.

RANKED UPDATE

Two new maps have also arrived in Ranked!

The first is Inquisitorthe remake of Midship shown above. That's rightone of the most iconic maps in Halo history has returned—an all-timer from Halo 2 which provides a perfect balance for close-quarters and mid-range combat.

As for the othersay hello to Fortress.

FORTRESS
Credits: MikRipsEthan Hibbs

This brand-new symmetrical map offers fast-paced action and rewards deadly precisionwith two snipers up for grabsand an opportunity to play offensively with an Overshield to help secure your lead or make a daring comeback.

The Winter Update brings with it a series of additions and improvements as the result of feedback from the communityas folks look to further expand their range of options to create on an increasingly granular level in Forge.

THIRD-PERSON CAMERA

The ability to change between first- and third-person perspectives will be available at a mode level in Custom Games options and as a scripting node in Forge.

Go hands-on with this in matchmaking with the Third-Person Firefight playlisthelping you to get a feel for how Halo plays with this new perspective.

IMPROVED FORGER ATTRIBUTION

To increase the visibility of Forgers who have created the maps and modes you’re enjoyingwe have updated multiple areas of the game to highlight the gamertags and more easily allow players to bookmark their creations.

You will be able to see these updates on the following screens:

• Match intro camera
• Pause menu
• Scoreboard
• Post-game carnage report

Additionallywe have added the ability to bookmark maps and modes on several of these screens as well.

COMMANDER AGRYNA VOICE LINES

Spartan Commander Laurette Agryna—head of the Avery J. Johnson Academy—serves as one of the multiplayer announcers in Halo Infiniteand Forgers will be able to utilize her voiceover in the same fashion as when we added Jeff Steitzer’s voice lines to Forge.

To allow maximum control with this new featureyou can also ensure that only the intended players or team will hear each line set up in Forge’s nodegraph.

...AND MORE!

That’s just the tip of the iceberg! We’ve added further improvements to the Global Lifepool systemsnav markersmusic in Forge controlsGeneric Zone progress nodesand minigame mode labels.

For a detailed look into these enhanced elementsread our Forge Overview.

When you jump into the gameyou will find that there have been a number of changes made to Halo Infinite’s sandbox as wellfurther addressing player feedback. Here’s a look at the highlights.

VK78 COMMANDO

• Increased maximum bullet spread.
• Removed “donut bloom.”
• Faster bloom expansion.

We wanted to help improve the bloom properties of the VK78 Commando. Previouslyat maximum spreadthe VK78’s bullets were trending only to the outer edges of the bloomed reticle. To give the weapon a more consistent feelwe've adjusted the bloom properties to allow the bullet to land anywhere within the bounds of the bloomed reticle. To balance the now more accurate VK78the bloom will reach maximum spread slightly quicker than previously.

MK50 SIDEKICK

• Removed “donut bloom.”
• Increased base bullet spread.

The Mk50 Sidekick has become one of the most reliable weapons in the sandbox. With that in mindwe wanted to keep that consistent feeling for the weapon by touching up some of its bloom properties. Additionallya common point of fan feedback has been that the Mk50 can be used very efficiently from extended rangesand we have pulled that slightly back to incentivize scavenging for other long-ranged weapon options.

ACTIVE CAMO

• When holding a flag with Active Camothe flag object will now remain visible while it's being carried.

The “sneaky beaver” flag runs are a staple of Capture the Flag that provides exciting and creative gameplay experiences. With that in mindwe've seen players on the offensive utilize the camo flag run with very high efficiency. To give the team whose flag has been taken a better fighting chance to stop the camo flag runnerthe camo flag runner's Spartan will remain camouflagedbut the flag itself will be visible.

THRUSTER

• When Thrust is activated by a playerthey will no longer be able to shoot at the same time.

Thruster is seen as an item of equipment with high reward and little risk when used during combat. Combining quick movement with your weapon always ready to fire was something we wanted to address. We have added in two functional changes that will very briefly disable weapon usage and hide your reticle during the Thruster movement. This should provide some counterplay potential to those battling against an opponent with the Thruster equipment while still maintaining the equipment user's advantage.

For a more extensive breakdown of these changeshead over to our Sandbox Overview.

ROCKET RECLAIMER

“Your new suit’s a Mark VIjust came up from Seongnam this morning.”

The Rocket Reclaimer bundle includes:

• Master Chief Mark VI armor kit
• Green Man armor coating
• Veteran SPNKr weapon model
• Veteran Metal weapon coating

Step into the iconic Mjolnir Mark VI armor of the Master Chief in Halo 2 and prepare to finish the fight.

HELIOSKRILL

Created by a Sangheili prodigyan artisan-armorer inspired to test her skill against the best that humanity could musterthe Helioskrill armor was regarded as a work of art in both form and function for Spartan super-soldiers.

The Arbitration bundle contains:

• Helioskrill helmet
• Stormclaw Mask helmet attachment
• Helioskrill Pauldrons
• Helioskrill Harness chest attachment
• Helioskrill Cuisse hip gear
• Helioskrill Poleyn kneepads
• Risk Explorer armor coating
• Reclaimed Wings armor effects set

This armor suits you!

DELTA FORGED

Love the look of all of the above? You can get it all in the Delta Forged bundlecompiling both the Rocket Reclaimer and Arbitration bundlesand as a bonus the Delta Forged bundle contains:

• Oracle Augmentor shoulders
• Oracle Protocol chest attachment

WARTIME REQUISITION

Even prototype Marine Corps helmet designs have been snapped up for use by active-duty Spartans.

Based on the design of the UNSC Marines’ battle dress uniformsparticularly those seen in Halo 2: Anniversarythe Wartime Requisition bundle offers a fitting look for the frontlines. This bundle contains:

• XM55 ACH helmet
• HUL-I/UPTIK helmet attachment
• UA/Model 48 shoulder pads
• UA/M532 Plate chest attachment
• UA/ULAP hip gear
• UA/Type MI kneepads
• Pixel Camouflage armor coating
• Podium Finish stance

With the arrival of Operation: Great Journey is a refresh of The Exchangewhere you can acquire various customization items with Spartan Points earned by playing matches and completing certain Challenges.

Notablythe fan-favorite Mark V Zeta helmet and Scorpion Punch armor coating make a (re)appearancebecoming available to players for the first time since the Tac Ops event all the way back in 2022. If you missed these back thenbe sure to secure ‘em now!

• Arbitration – Emblem (Twitch Drops)
• Phalanx – Visor (Tactical Ops)
• Tigris – Gloves (Tactical Ops)
• UA/MAUROS – Helmet Attachment (Tactical Ops)
• TAC/AHD TYPE 3ZY – Chest Attachment (Tactical Ops)
• MAT-2559/Grenade Pack – Hip Attachment (Tactical Ops)
• Have S’Moa - Weapon Charm (Ultimate Reward)
• Wort – Weapon Charm (Ultimate Reward)
• Claw Patrol – Stance (Tactical Ops)
• Holy Flare – Weapon Charm (Twitch Drops)
• HUL-I/LIGHTSPIKE – Helmet Attachment (NEW)
• Scorpion Punch – Armor Coating (Tactical Ops)
• Covenant Frontline – Armor Coating (Twitch Drops)
• Death Hex – Weapon Coating (Twitch Drops)
• Ember Hex – Weapon Coating (Twitch Drops)
• Thremaleon Cuisse – Hip Attachment (NEW)
• Mark V Zeta – Helmet (Tactical Ops)
• War Hero – Weapon Charm (NEW)

In celebration of Halo 2’s twentieth birthday and the launch of Operation: Great Journeywe’ve got a new short story releasing as part of the festivities.

Halo: Age of Retribution will release on November 8available to read here on Halo Waypointas a free PDFand in audiobook format on YouTube.

November 32552. After the Prophet of Regret is assassinated by the Master Chiefthe Covenant is shaken to its foundations as the feud between Brutes and Elites reaches a violent turning point.

Today’s update delivers many updates and fixes that the team have been working on to improve the Halo Infinite experience. Head over to the Halo Support site to check out the full list of patch notes.

Run into a bugglitchor other unexpected issue? Submit a ticket and notify the team on the Halo Support site.

You can submit tickets on a wide range of topics that include reports of Audio IssuesCrashesGame Save CorruptionReport a PlayerGeneral Bug Reportsand more.

That brings this launch blog to a conclusion. Get your hands on the MA5K Avenger and lay waste to your opponents in the Delta Arena playlisttry out some third-person Firefight: King of the Hillprogress your Operation Pass so your Spartan can cosplay as a certain legendary shipmasterplay around with all the new elements of this latest Forge updateand stay tuned for the upcoming Waypoint Chronicle!

Jump into Halo Infinite and party like it’s 2004!

Download the Operation: Great Journey press kit here!