Halo Infinite will bring back the option to swap guns with NPC soldiers

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"It's some of the most fun you can have this side of the Auditorium," 343 Industries teases

Halo Infinite
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Halo Infinite will continue the series' tradition of letting you swap guns with NPC soldiers, including the UNSC marines you rescue from Banished outposts. 

In a new blog post, developer 343 Industries playfully encouraged fans to "keep replaying the new reveal video and sleep with dreams of careening headlong into a Banished outpost with a stolen Banshee, immediately freeing several captured UNSC Marines, giving them all your best weapons, piling them in a reclaimed Razorback, and laying waste to the crimson-covered bladed baddies standing in your way. It’s some of the most fun you can have this side of the Auditorium." 

Ever since Halo 2, players have been able to swap guns with the NPC soldiers accompanying them on missions, so in a way it's no surprise to see Halo Infinite keep the feature going. That said, while gun swapping was previously used as more of a makeshift ammo market than anything, giving out weapons in the open world of Halo Infinite raises some more interesting possibilities. 

We saw Master Chief collaborate with marines in in the Halo Infinite campaign trailer – if you define "cooperate" as "drive them off a cliff after assuring them that they're safe" – but we didn't see him, say, hand a squad of soldiers a bunch of sniper rifles and lead them to a ridge bordering a Banshee camp. You could also theoretically chuck a bunch of melee weapons their way and lead them into battle like you're playing Chivalry 2. It's not entirely clear how the weapons you share will affect NPC behavior, but if Halo Infinite's open world is as reactive as we hope, swapping guns could lead to some of the best highlights in the game. 

The Halo Infinite campaign may deliver the experience that Combat Evolved could only dream of all those years ago. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.