Halo Infinite’s four-year run as the primary esports title in Halo major competition is officially coming to an end. Tashi, esports lead for the Halo franchise, made the announcement in a post to the official Halo Waypoint blog, citing a shift of focus toward “the next era of Halo” as a driving factor behind the decision to move on from Halo Infinite.
As the studio continues to shift more and more towards the next era of Halo, we feel this is the right time for Official HCS Competition to move on from Halo Infinite. Year 4 will be the final Official HCS events for Halo Infinite, and now’s your last chance to be part of this momentous chapter of Halo esports history.
The decision will officially take effect after this year’s Halo World Championship (HaloWC), which is scheduled to take place from October 24 to 26 in Seattle. To celebrate the end of Halo Infinite’s time on the pro circuit, an MVP will be crowned for the entire duration of Halo Infinite’s HCS duration from 2021 to 2025.
This doesn’t mean Halo Studios is pulling the plug on all official support for competitive Halo Infinite. The blog post says that the studio will continue to support prizepools and player travel for events, but makes it clear that we shouldn’t expect any more major competitions.
Of course, there is currently no successor to Halo Infinite. In the post, Tashi states that the HCS will not be held in 2026, implying the new Halo game won’t be dropping until at least late next year, though they promise “initial details of what’s to come” will be revealed during the HaloWC. The last time the HCS missed a year was in 2019/2020, when delays to Halo Infinite’s launch and COVID-related issues disrupted scheduling.
Halo Infinite is a first-person shooter developed by 343 Industries and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the sixth main installment in the Halo franchise and continues the story of Master Chief after the events of Halo 5: Guardians. At launch, the game received generally positive reviews for its gameplay mechanics, gunplay, and return to the series’ roots. The campaign was praised for its open-ended structure and emotional tone, while the multiplayer was well-received for its core combat and free-to-play model.
