Halo Infinite has had a rocky journey, and the game hasn't even released yet. Development delays and criticisms of the upcoming title's graphics have only made many fans more desperate to get their hands on new information about Halo Infinite. Taking players to the Zeta Halo, one of the most important locations in the series' lore, the next Halo game has a lot riding on its release.
Halo Infinite has had its fair share of leaks and rumors in 2021 alone. Here's a break down of the speculation and supposed leaks regarding the game, and what they might mean fans can expect when Halo Infinite hits the shelves.
The Spartan Leaks
Back in March, actor Verlon Roberts appeared on the Fadam and Friends podcast where he let a major detail slip about Halo Infinite. Discussing the delay in the game's development, Roberts claimed that the game's release window had been pushed back to November 2021. Roberts claimed he knew this because he would be playing the role of Spartan Griffin in the upcoming game.
Spartan Griffin was an important character in the Halo novel Shadows of Reach, and Roberts' suggestion that he had already recorded scenes with Master Chief's actor seems to confirm that the two Spartans would meet at some point in Halo Infinite's plot.
With rumors circulating that Spartan Griffin would be in the next game, another leak hit in April 2021 which revealed what the Spartan might look like in Infinite, as well as the design for another character. In April toy company Mega Construx was revealed to be working on at least two products for Halo Infinite, having produced Halo figures for Microsoft in the past.
This leak showed what Spartan Griffin may look like in-game, carrying a Needler and wearing purple Mark VII armor. The leak also revealed another Spartan character apparently named Spartan Stone. Spartan Stone is wielding an SMG, wears white armor, as is known as Spartan Trailblazer. Aside from that, however, fans have been given very little idea about what the character's role may be, with Spartan Stone not appearing in the series so far.
Features And Halo Infinite's Future
A Halo Infinite rumor circulated in April which suggested some features which may be returning to the series. A Redditor posting under the username Infinite2021yup claimed to be working for a European QA company testing Halo Infinite's multiplayer. The post claimed that the Pit and the Battle Pass system would both be making a comeback. It also expanded on the grappling hook seen in the 2020 gameplay trailer, saying it could be used to travel, pick up weapons, grapple other players, and capture the flag.
May 2021 saw 343 Industries make an announcement which led to a lot of speculation in the Halo community. A Halo Waypoint post saw 343 declare the following:
"While I hope you enjoyed this month’s 1,000-word screenshots, we know that game videos  are worth at least 10,000 words. And the great news is that Summer i.e., game industry event season, is just around the corner — and there are glorious plans afoot."
This practically confirmed that Halo Infinite will be getting a gameplay video of some kind this summer. 343 Industries will likely be keen to overshadow the campaign demo released for the game in July of last year, which drew a lot of controversy and mockery for its graphics.
Earlier this month, a video was released made by a Eric Lin, a man claiming to be a former 343 developer. It was translated from Mandarin by ResetEra user randomO_point. Lin told fans not to expect an "epoch-making masterpiece" from Halo Infinite but that the "finished product would still be great." Halo Infinite's reception upon release, however, remains to be seen. If Verlon Roberts is right, fans can expect Halo Infinite to finally hit shelves this November, but even that is far from confirmed. For now, fans will have to wait for more information from 343.
Halo Infinite will launch Fall 2021 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.