The latest rumor regarding Halo Infinite's unrevealed multiplayer is that it will include a significantly scaled up Big Team Battle experience in place of a rumored battle royale mode. This is likely what many Halo fans want to hear, as any mention of the popular multiplayer mode is met with nothing but derision when it comes to the franchise. 343 Industries itself has even come out to confirm that "the only BR they care about is the Battle Rifle" in a tweet that instantly went viral in the Halo community. Still, the rumored inclusion of the mode persists, and likely will continue to do so until the developers fully unveil what they've cooked up for Halo: Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer.
Even if Halo isn't interested in battle royale, it's no stranger to multiplayer experiences far larger than its standard 5v5 Team Slayer. Big Team Battle (an 8v8 variant of traditional multiplayer) has been a staple of the franchise since the days of Blood Gulch and Sidewinder, and it was later crystallized in the form of a matchmaking playlist that's almost always available on launch. Meanwhile, Halo 3: ODST added the Firefight PvE mode to the series, which takes place on larger battlefields and imports AI enemies from the campaign, and Halo: Reach's Invasion allowed players to face off in an objective-based battle as Spartans vs. Elites. Most recently, the premier 12v12 Warzone mode was a big part of 2015's Halo 5: Guardians, which borrowed elements from the free-to-play MOBA genre.
One of the tenants of Halo Infinite seems to be going back to basics, so it would be little surprise if one of the new game's multiplayer modes returned to the roots of Big Team Battle. Reliable Xbox insider Klobrille shared what he knew about the mode in a tweet preserved in a report on Wccftech. According to Klobrille, Halo Infinite's "Big Team Battle 2.0" will be a highly expanded Battlefield-sized affair with "massively enhanced vehicular combat, squad spawning, incoming pelican drops" and more.
To anyone who's ever played a round of modern Battlefield multiplayer, this sounds like a clear move toward that immersive type of gameplay. However, it's doubtful that 343 would add systems like classes to the game. Another interesting wrinkle lies in one of Klobrille's replies, where they state that Halo Infinite's Forge mode will be expanded to the point where players who want a battle royale experience in the game will be able to create one themselves. Considering some of the Forge creations and Custom Games made in Halo 5: Guardians' massively improved Forge, this doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility. Although, there will inevitably be those outside the hardcore fanbase who want such a mode to be official rather than a user-made add-on.
From one game to the next, Halo multiplayer has changed dramatically, so only time will tell what Halo Infinite's spin on Spartan action will look like. From movement abilities to starting weapons to the inclusion of equipment, there are so many variables. There are also many different splinters of the 20-year-old fanbase, and they all want something a little bit different to play to their specific nostalgia. Considering that Halo 5: Guardians had one of the most expansive and tight of any of the multiplayer suites by the end of its life, it does seem that Microsoft's internal Halo team is on the right track.
Halo Infinite will be available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in Fall 2021.
Source: Wccftech