Halo Infinite will not be attempting to capitalize on the battle royale multiplayer mode's popularity when the game releases, as 343 Industries developers Jeff Easterling and James Bachici creatively denied the possibility of a battle royale mode in the next Halo title.
Not much is currently known about Halo Infinite, but 343 Industries has promised a return to what made the series so popular in its infancy. So far, that's meant refocusing on Master Chief as the Halo protagonist, placing the iconic military hero front and center within a new narrative that will pick up where Guardians left off. Halo Infinite will also be instituting a new art style that is said to be based on player feedback, taking inspiration from the more historic and well-received elements of the Halo franchise thus far.
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During a social stream on Mixer earlier today, Easterling and Bachici were asked whether or not a battle royale mode was on the horizon for Halo Infinite. What followed was pretty close to a sure statement that fans won't be able to partake in gigantic multiplayer skirmishes in the same vein as Fortnite - with a little bit of a flourish and a callback to one of the most popular Halo weapons from Easterling: "I'll tell you right now, the only BR we're really interested in is the Battle Rifle."
Easterling's response fits perfectly into the way that 343 Industries is currently marketing Halo Infinite. A game more focused on Master Chief will likely have a deeper single-player campaign, and a return to the multiplayer prowess that saw the Halo series become one of the most iconic iterations of its genre would mean smaller-scale multiplayer combat done under the rules of Slayer, King of the Hill, and more. Mentioning the Battle Rifle, a weapon that has become legendary in the hands of Master Chief and in Halo multiplayer matches the world over, is a nice touch that evokes the kind of rich history that 343 Industries is drawing from to develop Halo Infinite.
Still, ruling out a battle royale mode is a big decision that 343 Industries could not have made lightly. Games like Battlefield V and Call of Duty Black Ops 4 are both incorporating battle royale into their multiplayer offerings, and games like the aforementioned Fortnite and PUBG continue to see dedicated playerbases and consistent success.
What that could mean for Halo fans, though, is the development team behind Halo Infinite is already confident enough in the game's direction that it doesn't need to follow current gaming trends. Halo was the series that blazed the path for other first-person shooters in the 2000s - it would only be fitting for Halo Infinite to do the same as the predecessors it is taking so many inspirations from.
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Source: Mixer