Asking fans of the Halo franchise what they see as iconic and irreplaceable would likely lead to a surprisingly long list. Whether it's the Halo soundtrack's Gregorian chant, the classic M6 Pistol, Master Chief's armor, or the Halo rings themselves, there are many elements to the first-person shooter series that if removed would change the experience dramatically. 343 Industries has just confirmed another one of those iconic elements will be returning in Halo Infinite, welcoming back Halo's multiplayer announcer Jeff Steitzer.
In 343's latest Q&A video uploaded to YouTube, a fan asked whether or not Steitzer would be returning for Halo Infinite. Chase Thompson, lead audio technical designer at 343, replied in the affirmative. "There's nothing better than hearing a classic 'Double Kill,' " is how Thompson characterized Steitzer's return, saying that the voice actor is doing new recordings for Halo Infinite's multiplayer experience.
For those unfamiliar with Steitzer's work, he's the voice actor responsible for all of the commentary provided during Halo multiplayer matches. Calling out double kills, triple kills, and killing sprees are just some example quotes. He also calls out when matches end with a healthy, "Game Over!" as well as other multiplayer events. In more recent Halo releases, he's added recordings for game modes including Oddball, Race, Rally, and Headhunter. Steitzer would be fairly described as the voice of Halo multiplayer.
There was some worry that Steitzer wouldn't be able to return for Halo Infinite in order to record new multiplayer dialogue. Jeff Steitzer is, by all means, healthy and productive. However, the ongoing pandemic has limited certain aspects of game development severely, and audio recording is one of those areas impacted. Add in that Steitzer is 69 years old, putting him in a vulnerable demographic, and prioritizing his health and safety would be a fair decision on 343's part.
Bringing back Steitzer for Halo Infinite may be the most important return for the upcoming game's release, in this case. It's already confirmed that Halo Infinite's multiplayer will be free-to-play. With Microsoft unlocking free-to-play games on Xbox so they won't require Xbox Live Gold, Halo Infinite's multiplayer could be the most popular iteration of the franchise yet. Having Steitzer's voice for that is all but required.
As for when Halo fans can expect to hear Steitzer's voice in-game, the tentative release window for Halo Infinite remains late 2021. There are rumors that a beta for Halo Infinite's multiplayer could be held sooner than that, however. Soon, Steitzer's voice will be heard in Xbox homes once more.
Halo Infinite releases in late 2021 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.