With the release of Halo Infinite toward the end of 2021, 343 Industries brought players the next installment in the Reclaimer Saga. With a stripped-back narrative and a rehaul of gameplay elements, Halo Infinite marked a return to form for the franchise in the eyes of many fans, and the game was received positively. However, some players felt like the game was a little content-light at launch, and have been waiting patiently for more updates from 343 Industries about where Halo Infinite is heading in the coming months. With Season 2 confirmed for May, gamers are excited to see what changes and new additions it will bring.
One question that was on a lot of players' lips as the credits rolled on Halo Infinite's singleplayer campaign was the fate of the other Spartans. As gamers played through Halo Infinite's campaign, they would have come across the corpses of several dead Spartans, killed during skirmishes with the Banished after crash landing on Zeta Halo. The sight of so many practically unkillable soldiers that are now nothing but corpses is jarring, both for the players and for Master Chief, and it leaves gamers with many questions.
Slain Spartans And The Fate Of The Infinity
Following the events of Halo 5: Guardians, depleted UNSC forces onboard the Infinity and accompanying ships arrive at Installation 07, otherwise known as Zeta Halo, at the end of 2559. After being overrun by a Banished ambush, the survivors, including a cohort of Spartan IVs, take the fight down to the ring's surface. During Master Chief, the Pilot, and the Weapon's attempts to locate and rally the remaining UNSC forces to subdue the Banished, players come across the corpses of several dead Spartans in various areas of Zeta Halo's open world. While Master Chief was floating in space for six months before being rescued by the Pilot at the start of Halo Infinite's events, the fighting on the surface of Zeta Halo was fierce and claimed the lives of several of the UNSC's most elite soldiers.
Master Chief comes across the bodies of several Spartan IVs, each one taken down by the Banished. Although he is his usual stoic and mainly silent self as the Weapon reveals the identity of the fallen Spartans and their cause of death, Master Chief places a hand on the shoulder of each of the bodies in a gesture that says more than words ever could. These emotional story beats help to solidify the veteran Spartan's resolve to take down the Banished, and players are also able to salvage upgrades from the suits, like a Drop Wall or Thruster modules, to help give Master Chief an edge.
Scattered audio logs provide more details about what happened to the Spartans that landed on Zeta Halo, like Fireteam Taurus led by Spartan Hudson Griffin. During his attempts to unify the scattered UNSC forces in guerilla warfare against the Banished, Griffin was captured and is eventually rescued by Master Chief before dying. While some fates of the Spartans, like Bonita Stone, Vedrana Makovich, and Theodore Sorel are revealed by the Weapon after the discovery of their bodies, some like Bertold Vettel remain a mystery. However, Vettel is presumed dead after going missing during a failed rescue attempt of Griffin.
Future Of The Spartans
While some Spartans are confirmed dead (taken down by the Banished's formidable Spartan Killer), there are still some mentioned in audio logs whose fates remain a mystery. Spartans like Kovan and Horvath are still MIA after they helped to evacuate Captain Lasky from the Infinity and began battling the Banished on Zeta Halo, leading some players to wonder if they might reappear at some point. With 343 Industries' assurance that the story will continue on through multiplayer-focused updates, Halo Infinite will be the home of the franchise for many years to come with live-service content and continual gameplay and narrative additions.
Although there might not be specific story DLC, with the promise that the narrative will continue to evolve and explore other facets of Halo lore, players will hopefully still have plenty to experience. With the announcement that Season 2: Lone Wolf will be released at the start of May, gamers were also given a glimpse at what they can expect from the new content, including a focus on Lone Wolf Spartans like Spartan Sigrid Eklund and Spartan Hieu Dinh. While many Spartans have died in the series so far, like the ones killed at Laconia Station in Halo 5 by Cortana, at least there will be more to come that can help Master Chief in his mission to take on the mysterious Endless.
Halo Infinite is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.