A Twitter user has discovered a secret message hidden within the Halo Infinite trailer that debuted at E3 2019. The trailer itself is over seven weeks old at this point, meaning this secret has been hidden for an exceptionally long time by industry standards.
Microsoft used the Halo Infinite in-engine trailer as the final word for its E3 2019 press conference. After confirming that the game would launch alongside the newly-announced Project Scarlett in holiday 2020, Microsoft's Phil Spencer showed off a longer look at where the Halo series was going next. The trailer introduced an unnamed UNSC marine who discovers the Master Chief floating in space. After bringing the Chief inside his stranded ship, the marine recharges the famed Spartan's suit and revives him. Cortana, the Chief's longtime AI companion, was hinted at near the end of the trailer, but that was all it had to offer about her - or so it seemed.
A Twitter user by the name of Xepyal recently tweeted their discovery of a secret message from Cortana hidden in the trailer. The link in the tweet brings up a short audio clip that begins with the sound of footsteps before Cortana speaks, saying "this is part of me. I don't know why, I don't know how. But it is me." Xepyal uncovered the audio clip through a QR code, which was hidden at the 3:33 mark in the trailer. As the Chief's suit is rebooting, a series of red bars flash across his HUD. Xepyal took individual screenshots of each frame and pieced them together, which revealed the QR code.
Xepyal's tweet was directed at Dan Chosich, the narrative director at 343 Industries. A few hours later, the official Halo account on Twitter verified Xepyal's discovery with a tweet of Dr. Catherine Halsey saying "took you long enough." Of course, this provoked greater speculation about other possible secrets concealed in different Halo Infinite media.
Despite the fact that the secret message doesn't offer a whole lot of information, it has some very interesting implications. Fans are theorizing that there may be two Cortanas now, at the least. Cortana was thought to have gone rampant at the end of Halo 4, losing control of her faculties and turning her "evil" in Halo 5. This was not a very popular plot turn among many players, so some are guessing that there may now be a "good" version and a "bad" version of Cortana in Halo Infinite. Frankly, anything that smooths out the rough plot of Halo 5 for the future of the series would be much appreciated.
Source: Xepyal/Twitter