A Halo Infinite leak has revealed a potential Buzz Lightyear crossover ahead of the release of the Lightyear movie. The latest entry in the shooter series has had quite a number of collaborations with brands and products in the past year or so to help market the game before and after its release. From gaming peripherals and energy drinks to clothing brands and more, Microsoft is seemingly trying to reach as many people as possible, even partnering with nail polish brand OPI for a Halo Infinite collaboration.
Crossovers between video games and other entertainment IPs have become more common and popular over the past few years, thanks in part to Fortnite’s rapidly growing litany of crossovers. From video games to TV and movie franchises, Fortnite has partnered with quite a large number of IPs and featured their characters in the game with skins and cosmetics, making the idea something of an expectation for free-to-play games, which the multiplayer component of Halo Infinite is. Epic Games doesn't seem to be slowing plans to integrate popular characters into its shooter, with a recent leak claiming that Epic has successfully partnered with Paramount to potentially add Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Fortnite.
Reddit user bissue_tox shared images of several unreleased Warthog skins that were reportedly found in Halo Infinite’s game files, seemingly revealing what looks to be a Buzz Lightyear skin (via Dexerto). While most of the 23 leaked skins don’t appear to reference anything in particular, one of them matches the very recognizable color scheme of Buzz Lightyear, as seen in Toy Story. The Warthog’s white and purple colors with bright green and red accents are typically associated with the popular character's spacesuit. The leaked skin has now sparked rumors of a Halo Infinite and Buzz Lightyear crossover, though nothing has yet been confirmed.
See the slideshow of leaked images on Reddit here.
The Lightyear movie is set to release in June this year, making a Halo Infinite crossover very possible. While a number of skins have been released for the multiplayer, including the popular Halo Infinite cat ears bundle, Halo has yet to feature a major crossover like this, potentially making this a first for the series. An official crossover could entail more than just a Warthog skin, with the possibility for there to be Buzz Lightyear-themed armor or weapons also released.
A Buzz Lightyear collaboration may not be the first thing that would come to the minds of Halo Infinite fans when thinking of the game’s first potential crossover. However, major collaborations such as this rumored one usually revolve around a launch or release of some kind, such as the aforementioned Lightyear movie, as a form of cross-marketing. If the leak does prove accurate and a Halo Infinite and Buzz Lightyear crossover does come to fruition, it will at least open the door to similar collaborations for the game in the future, and could help appease those unhappy with Halo Infinite's microtransactions.
Halo Infinite is available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: bissue_tox/Reddit (via Dexerto)