Halo Infinite third-person is officially happening after years of fan requests, 343 reveals with a surreal gameplay video

A Halo Infinite third-person mode is officially coming to the game next month, 343 Industries has revealed.

"Experience a new way to play!" reads a tweet from the official Halo Twitter account. "3rd Person Mode is coming to Halo Infinite this November". 

The announcement is accompanied by a minute-long gameplay video showing the third-person mode in action, and after so strongly associating Halo with the FPS genre for literal decades, it's admittedly pretty surreal to watch.

Although it certainly isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, some folks have wanted a third-person option for years, to the point that modders took it upon themselves to make it happen.

343's announcement is very light on details beyond what you can extrapolate from the gameplay footage, but from its wording it sounds like there will be at least one separate game mode for third-person players. And it's clear from the gameplay footage that there's a toggle you'll use to switch between perspectives, but it's unclear which modes that will be available in.

The inexplicable timing of this announcement aside, this is a major move for the Halo series, which has never had an official third-person mode in its 23-year history outside of the transitions when you're in a turret, vehicle, or using certain campaign equipment. The Halo community is polarized by the news, with some praising 343 for giving players' more choices, and others questioning whether it was the best allocation of the studio's resources.

Love or hate third-person, there's never a bad time to peruse our list of the best Halo games of all time.