Of all places, a new Halo Infinite 2022 wall calendar has revealed never-before-seen campaign concept art and a confirmation of the redesigned Brute Chopper vehicle's return. From a new flavor of Pringles to a series of action figures, there has been plenty of Halo Infinite merchandise hitting store shelves over the past year. While originally scheduled for release alongside the Xbox Series X/S, the game's first showing was poorly received by fans due to its visuals, forcing a delay. The game is now set to be one of Microsoft's big guns at E3 2021 before its holiday season release. Despite developer 343 Industries' careful release of Halo Infinite information so far, the wheels of commerce grind on, and licensed tie-ins don't wait for anyone.
Fans have had plenty of opportunities to stock up on Master Chief memorabilia since the initial delay, and many of those items have revealed facets of Halo Infinite before 343 Industries may have intended. The studio has chimed in itself on a regular basis throughout 2021 with a series of Inside Infinite blog posts, revealing things like a new Warthog and transparently discussing the game's development. Still, from new types of weapons to the main antagonists' background, diehard Halo followers are piecing together a clear picture of the semi-open-world FPS - and a lot of it has come not from 343, but cross-promotional product leaks.
Another piece of the puzzle fell into place Tuesday, as prominent gaming sleuth Shinobi602 discovered a few new pieces of art as part of a Calendars.com Halo Infinite calendar that will be up for sale in the near future. While some of these artworks aren't new, one image includes the first proper look at Halo Infinite's rendition of the Brute Chopper, a fan favorite vehicle that hasn't been in the series since Halo 3. The calendar also shows what appear to be campaign locations from around Zeta Halo, and the image to the left of the Chopper may look familiar to fans of Bungie's Destiny and its striking Black Garden. Considering that Halo Infinite is a direct callback to the days of Bungie's original work on the series, it would make sense that 343 may continue to draw influence from its forebear.
There's also an image of a pelican picking up Master Chief from what appears to be open space, showing the other end of the game's E3 2018 reveal trailer. It's possibly a shot from Halo Infinite's opening scenes, a section that needs to bridge the gap from Halo 5: Guardians' shark-jumping AI invasion to Infinite's more pressing war against Atriox's Banished, a splinter faction of fanatical Brutes. It's a necessary narrative shift that likely won't be fully explored until players get their hands on the game, but the other concept art will give them a better idea about some of the locales they'll visit on Zeta Halo will be channeling.
While a few bits of new art and a cool-looking Chopper will satiate Halo fans briefly, the wait for Halo Infinite will only get longer for some as Xbox lays out even more of the game in just a few short days. It's expected that there will be a full Halo Infinite multiplayer reveal at E3 2021 - at the very least - but it's possible that the joint Xbox-Bethesda conference could also offer more hints at what the campaign has in story. What other new details are revealed by poorly timed marketing campaigns between now and then is anyone's guess.
Halo Infinite will be available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in Fall 2021.
Source: Calendars.com (via Shinobi602)