The next Halo installment called Halo: Battle Royale was teased by 343 Industries, and even though it’s a joke, it’s got some players wishing that it wasn’t.
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Halo: Battle Royale was teased on the Halo subreddit where 343 Industries created a new post announcing “The next evolution in Halo Gaming!” The post set up the story for the series’ supposed battle royale mode by bringing in Master Chief and Cortana and explained where the “royale” acronym came from, and despite the fact that it’s an April Fool’s joke, it doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea to many players.
“In Master Chief’s search for Cortana, Chief finds himself and his team stranded on a mysterious new Halo ring,” the announcement read. “During that time, the UNSC has begun training the Spartan IVs for their inevitable face-off with the Created threat. To do so, a new Warzone Simulation titled Range, Ordnance Yield, Assault and Local Engagement has been issued. AKA, Battle ‘Royal.’”
The post called it “Royal” instead of “Royale,” but the gist of it is there. Halo: Battle Royale was then described in greater details as a simulation that consists of 100 Spartans that fight amongst each other on “recognizable battlefields throughout the Halo universe.” Players would start out with a Magnum and would be required to scavenge for weapons and vehicles on the battlefield until only one Spartan remained.
Rewards and customization elements were previewed to be included as well that don’t affect gameplay but altered the way that players look as well as the weapon effects that they use.
“Players will gain REQ Points as they complete games and prove their skills, and will be able to progress through ranks to receive rewards like armor, weapon and vehicle skins, grenade explosion effects, armor pieces, new drop pods, and even legendary Characters seen in previous Halo titles,” the post read. “These rewards will not affect your skills on the battlefield, because as a Spartan, you must prove yourself in battle.”
The post might seem believable enough leading up to this point even with the knowledge that it was posted on April Fool’s Day, but the Spartan Pass is a dead giveaway. It was previewed as a monthly pass that would give players increased amounts of rewards while those without the pass could still earn rewards at a slower rate, exactly how Fortnite’s Battle Pass works. The devs even gave players a taste of what this mode would look like – just check out that Master Chief dance.
Despite the fact that 343 Industries is just messing around, it’s got players thinking that maybe a battle royale mode wouldn’t be the worst idea. The announcement post was filled with comments that said as much with many saying that if there were some slight adjustments, it’d be a must play. There have been some rumors that Halo 6 might try and incorporate some battle royale elements, so this joke is just a way to test the waters, 343 is definitely learning a lot.
