Halo Infinite battle royale file discovered during technical test

Halo Infinite could be getting a battle royale mode, according to files datamined during the recent technical tests.

In among the test files, users found a voice recording performed by the game's multiplayer announcer, Jeff Steitzer (via PCGamesN). The recording might be short, but when Steitzer is heard to call out the phrase 'Battle Royale', it's not hard to guess at what developer 343 Industries might be planning.

Despite the unambiguous nature of the clip, some fans aren't convinced that this is confirmation of a last-player-standing mode. Commenters on Resetera pointed out that it could be an asset that the developers recorded in case of any future updates, or something dedicated to a custom game mode. There's been no word from 343 or Microsoft about a Halo Infinite battle royale, but equally, neither party has ever ruled the mode out.

In spite of the developers' radio silence on the matter, it wouldn't be too significant stretch for Halo to get a battle royale. Since the breakout success of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in 2017, shooter franchises (and a number of other games) have adopted the format with increasing regularity. Fortnite has arguably found the most success, with Call of Duty Warzone not too far behind, but there have been plenty of other offerings, and while Halo might be a little behind the trend, fans might relish the opportunity to claim a Master Chief Royale.

The potential existence of a battle royale mode isn't the only thing that dataminers have uncovered within the technical flight. As well as suggesting that the game might receive single-player and co-op campaigns, those files have unfortunately revealed a number of Halo Infinite story beats in pretty significant detail. If you're hoping to go in knowing absolutely nothing when the game eventually arrives, you might need to stay vigilant to avoid spoilers.

Hopefully, however, you won't need to be on your guard for too long. Microsoft says it's "very committed" to a Halo Infinite release this holiday season, and it's looking increasingly likely that we'll finally get our hands on the full game in November. Last week, an Xbox Mexico donut advert became the third source pointing to a launch in just three months' time.

To help kill time until Halo Infinite arrives, here's our list of upcoming Xbox Series X games.