Halo Infinite Season 2, titled Lone Wolves, is launching on May 3, bringing new maps, modes, events and more to the multiplayer game.
343 Industries posted the announcement on Twitter, alongside a brief trailer teasing the season. The post invites players to “gear up for Season 2 of Halo Infinite” with the promise that they’ll “experience fresh content including new maps, modes, themed limited-time events and an all-new Battle Pass that never expires.”
The fast-paced trailer doesn’t give a whole lot away, but it was only last month that Joseph Staten, Head of Creative on Halo Infinite, gave some hints about what we can expect from Lone Wolves as a season in a Halo Waypoint post.
Staten said that “much, but not all,” of the season’s content, for instance, is guided by the idea that “Lone Wolf Spartans are hunters. Trackers. They’re resourceful improvisers, operating deep in enemy territory without resupply or support.They’re fierce, rugged, and prefer to work alone – but they’re still loyal to the Spartan pack.”
Staten also said that Season 2 will include “playlist updates, balance changes, new modes, and maps”, highlighting a new Arena map called “Catalyst”, a BTB map called “Breaker”, and new modes called “Last Spartan Standing” and “Land Grab”.
In a later post, there’s also mention of an “updated version of King of the Hill that you’ll be able to play in Matchmaking and Customs (along with being able to set it to 'classic' version)” as well as “a lot of updates to playlists, including the addition of the new Catalyst Arena map and Attrition going into Quick Play”.
As the season progresses, the team says its “goal is to rotate in some new playlists with some fun variants we’ve been playtesting a lot lately.”
- Best Xbox Series X games
- Halo Infinite Season 1 – battle pass, length, trailer, and everything you need to know
- Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S: which Xbox is right for you?
In another recent Halo Waypoint post, 343 Industries also said there will be changes in response to player feedback on Season 1, which include, but are not limited to, “more customization content” in the free track that season 1 and “higher value cosmetics” for Ultimate Rewards.
Analysis: A needed update
Halo Infinite’s second season is coming after a fairly lengthy first season, which was extended by 343 Industries in order “to ensure Season 2 meets our high quality bar and so we can finish development for Season 2 in a healthy and sustainable way for our team.”
The wait for Season 2 and a lack of communication around updates and progress has created some restlessness in the Halo Infinite community. Community Director, Brian Jarrard, acknowledged this on Reddit recently, writing that the team “understand the community is simply out of patience and frankly, I think understandably tired of words.”
Jarrard wrote in the post that there have been “a lot of challenges and constraints” and that the team is “certainly not happy to be unable to meet player and community expectations, it's a difficult situation that's going to take the team time to work through.” He added, "a lot of production planning, costing, planning, hiring, etc.. is all happening which doesn't really lend to detailed regular updates."
It’s already been confirmed that the long-awaited campaign co-op won’t be ready to go at the start of Season 2 as the team needs more time to get it just right. Joseph Staten said that the team does, however, still expect campaign network co-op to launch “later in Season 2” and added that the team will announce a release date for that and split-screen co-op “as soon as we can”.
This new trailer is likely a relief to players who are looking forward to some new content coming to Halo Infinite and Joseph Staten tweeted out to say that there's "more to come throughout the month.”
BTW this is a teaser trailer. More to come throughout the month. Buckle up, Spartans!April 8, 2022
