Halo Infinite devs confirm campaign updates aren’t happening, but multiplayer support is far from over 

Three years on, Halo Infinite has seen a deluge of support for its multiplayer suite, adding the series’ best Forge mode, Firefight and even third-person gameplay. With the game’s latest Operation, Great Journey, the free-to-play Halo game now has a more classic-feeling gameplay mode in the form of Delta Arena and a brand-new weapon, the MA5K Avenger SMG.

In an interview with VideoGamer, Halo Senior Community Manager and acting producer of Infinite multiplayer John Junyszek spoke about the long-awaited addition of the game’s second post-launch weapon and the future of Halo multiplayer. 

Why Halo added the MA5K

As the second new addition to Infintie’s sandbox, the MA5K fills a role not filled by any other weapon in the game as a close-range SMG. However, more interestingly for Halo fans, the weapon has been canon for over 15 years, first appearing in 2007’s Ghosts of Onyx, but has only just made its gameplay debut. With the anniversary of Halo 2, 343, now Halo Studios, wanted to bring the “SMG vibes” of the Original Xbox classic to modern gamers. 

“Our players had been wanting a new weapon for a while now, so we knew whatever weapon we went after next would need to feel fresh when being handled in-game while still remaining grounded and familiar to the Halo universe,” Junyszek said. “We decided to go after the compact and sleek looking MA5K. It had never been in a Halo game before, so its addition would be a huge win for long-time fans. It’d also be able to fill that Halo 2 SMG role and provide everyone with something truly unique.”

“There are no plans to go back and retroactively change the Campaign experience.”

HALO SENIOR COMMUNITY MANAGER JOHN JUNYSZEK

In-universe, the MA5K is a cut-down version of the standard MA5 Assault Rifle seen across the majority of the Halo games, but with that role already filled in Infinite’s gameplay, the team decided to make some changes. This led to the MA5K Avenger, a faster-firing variant with a few design changes that sticks closely to the original weapon’s design.

“We wanted it to look and feel like it was the MA5K from the book, but knew we may need to make some minor changes to ensure it could work in Halo Infinite,” we were told. “To fulfill a unique role in the sandbox, we elected to position it more as an SMG. This made it a bit different than its Ghosts of Onyx origin, but we felt it was worth it to provide players with a unique weapon they could use in the core gameplay loop.

While the new weapon is a boom for multiplayer fans, campaign gamers are left out. Just like the Bandit DMR, the newest weapon will not be added into the campaign in a future update, even as a New Game Plus gun. With Halo Studios moving onto multiple new projects alongside support for Halo Infinite, the campaign has been left behind. 

“Some time ago we made the decision to fully focus the studio’s efforts on supporting the free-to- play Multiplayer experiences of Halo Infinite and multiple unannounced future projects,” Junyszek said. “With that focus on the future, there are no plans to go back and retroactively change the Campaign experience.”

Don’t believe the leaks

The tumultuous development of Halo Infinite is well-known, and the game’s past development has led to many leftover files within the game that dataminers have shared with fans. Scrapped weapons and vehicles, including many Halo 5 weapons, were discovered by dataminers, but have not been released in any form. 

While the MA5K Avenger was accurately leaked before release, Junyszek is adamant that fans shouldn’t listen to every leak. Just like Marvel Rivals game director Thaddeus Sasser told us in a recent interview, every datamined element could lead to disappointment. 

“Throughout development, the team has prototyped and experimented with various additions to the game – some of which eventually get included in an official release while others never fully pan out,” Junyszek said. “Unless it’s been officially confirmed by the studio, players should indeed keep their expectations in check when it comes to data-mining, rumors, and speculation.”

Halo Studios has confirmed that Infinite support is far from over with more Operations and content updates on the way for Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC. As a free-to-play title, it may not be as quick on the draw as its contemporaries, but Infinite offers something other titles don’t: that magical Halo gameplay. 

For more Halo news, read about why Master Chief Collection mods aren’t coming to Xbox anytime soon, or read about the scrapped battle royale game that was finally revealed.