Halo Infinite has been seen as a huge successor to 343 Industries' previous installment, Halo 5: Guardians, but the Halo Infinite campaign left many players wondering where the story could be taken next. With more questions than answers at the end of the campaign, 343 Industries has been setting Halo Infinite up for a long narrative and ultimate conclusion to the Reclaimer series. From Halo 4 onward, Master Chief's story has been seemingly building up to something huge, and it may come in the form of campaign DLC.
[Warning: Major spoilers for Halo Infinite are below.]
As the Legendary ending post-credit scene of Halo Infinite's campaign briefly explains, the Forerunners felt that the Endless were one of the biggest threats in existence in the year 97,368 BCE. This time period is significant for a couple of reasons, but most importantly it is 77 years after the Great Purification event. The Great Purification marked the time when Halo rings were first fired in an attempt to stop the Flood by wiping out all sentient life. Aside from the remaining few Forerunners, all life in the galaxy had been thought dead and cataloged by the Forerunners so that they may rebuild the galaxy after the Flood was long gone. However, as indicated by several Banished audio logs in Halo Infinite, the Endless, officially known as the Xalanyn species, also survived the rings unharmed.
For now, little is known about the Xalanyn species other than the fact that they posed a threat to the Forerunners. While Despondent Pyre, the monitor of Zeta Halo, was originally unaware of the Xalanyn's existence, the Banished audio logs imply that the Forerunners were aware of their presence. Additionally, the audio logs further imply that the Xalanyn were left uncataloged on purpose, but the Forerunners did not expect them to survive the Great Purification. In a final effort to retain their control over all life, the Forerunner lured the Xalanyn species into a trap and imprisoned their entire species on Zeta Halo with the help of Despondent Pyre, Offensive Bias, and the Silent Adutiroium. The final scene of Halo Infinite's campaign sees the Harbinger, one of the main bosses of the story, succeed in her mission to bring the Xalanyn back from imprisonment as she draws her final breath and speaks to someone elsewhere on Zeta Halo.
Halo Infinite Details Hint At The Story's Next Chapter
There are a few indisputable facts about the end of Halo Infinite that will help set up where the story will be taken next, in addition to outside confirmations. First and foremost, Microsoft has recently filed a trademark for an unknown Halo project called "Halo: The Endless". Other than the filing, nothing is known about what this project will be. However, the name Halo: The Endless name is not a coincidence, especially when multiple endings in Halo Infinite show Atriox releasing the Cylixes containing the remaining members of the Endless. Additionally, a July 2020 IGN interview with Halo Infinite Studio Head Chris Lee said of the game's story: "It's really about creating Halo Infinite as the start of the next 10 years for Halo and then building that as we go with our fans and community."
With the 10 year plan and Microsoft's recently filed trademark in mind, the ending of Halo Infinite with Atriox and the Endless begins to paint a clearer picture of what fans should expect to come next. Undoubtedly, the Endless will be playing a future role in Halo Infinite's timeline, but their motive is unclear. The Harbinger references the sins of the Forerunners on multiple occasions throughout the story, and the unique ending players see after completing the Halo Infinite campaign on Legendary difficulty confirms that Forerunners did want to treat the Endless as if they had never existed. The Endless will certainly want to continue the work of the Harbinger and undo all that the Forerunners have done, which most likely means destroying everything in the galaxy that was orchestrated by the Forerunners.
Additionally, the Endless will most likely continue to align themselves with the Banished, as Atriox seeks to eradicate humanity for Cortana's destruction of his homeworld. Both the Banished and the Xalanyn seek the destruction of humanity for their own causes, with the Xalanyn looking to take revenge on the Forerunners' Reclaimers. At the end of Halo Infinite as well, nobody knows that Atriox is alive or that he has successfully started the revival of the Endless. No amount of FOBs or Valor in Halo Infinite would be able to stop both armies combined, but there seems to be hope hidden away for humanity on Zeta Halo. In an exchange with Escharum, the Harbinger says "The Spartan is not alone. There's something here...helping him. Connected to this installation." Fans are led to believe that this is The Weapon, and the Harbinger could believe it to be as well, but it could also be the presence of Offensive Bias.
From the Legendary ending of Halo Infinite, it is revealed that Offensive Bias was deployed to help the Despondent Pyre in containing the Endless. Offensive Bias was the sole reason why the Forerunners were ultimately about to use the Halo rings against the Flood. During the Forerunner-Flood war, another Forerunner AI named Mendicant Bias was supposed to be the most advanced tool that the Forerunners had against the Flood. Though it isn't mentioned in Halo Infinite's Legendary campaign ending, Mendicant Bias was eventually taken over by the Flood and turned on the Forerunners in the novel Halo: Silentium: The Forerunner Saga Book Three. Much like humanity developed The Weapon as a nearly identical copy of Cortana that trapped her, Offensive Bias is a nearly identical copy of Mendicant Bias designed to defeat its predecessor AI and the Flood.
Halo Infinite: Offensive Bias, The Endless, & DLC
As the Harbinger and Escharum continue to discuss the presence of "something here," the Harbinger further explains that "It's remarkably vulnerable but highly intelligent." Normally, the term "remarkably vulnerable" would indicate something specific, but because it's said by the Harbinger the phrase has a bit more ambiguity behind it. The Harbinger and the Xalanyn survived the Halo rings, and the Forerunners considered them to be a threat, so it's a safe bet that nearly everything in existence would be considered "remarkably vulnerable" to the Endless. Additionally, Jega 'Rdomani, a Banished boss in Halo Infinite, had been dispatched by Escharum early on to stalk the Master Chief. It's likely that Escharum already knew of The Weapon's presence and didn't disclose it to the Harbinger. This miscommunication between Escharum and the Harbinger could be the reason why Offensive Bias would have remained hidden throughout Halo Infinite.
During Master Chief's final battle with the Harbinger, she resets her connection multiple times to the Silent Auditorium. After the second time the Harbinger reconnects, The Weapon tells Master Chief "Wait, there's something else here. Something's helping me." Additionally, once Master Chief defeats the Harbinger a portal opens up allowing both him and The Weapon to escape the Silent Auditorium at the end of Halo Infinite. Many fans have already theorized that both of these instances were caused by Offensive Bias and that the ending of Halo Infinite is setting up the character's appearance for the future.
With the Banished occupancy of Zeta Halo still heavy, Microsoft's filed trademark of Halo: The Endless, Atriox releasing of the Endless, and Offensive Bias' suspected presence behind scenes, Halo Infinite will likely take a route similar to Halo 4. Halo 4 integrated the remnants of the Covenant army and Forerunners under one unified leader, the IsoDidact, and Atriox would be the perfect leader for a similar role. Master Chief will likely need to fight off both Banished troops and the new Endless enemies, both of which are sure to add more difficult bosses to face in Halo Infinite campaign extensions or DLC.