Here’s how Infection is returning in Halo Infinite

343 just published a blog on the new flavor of the fan-favorite mode

I’ve experienced many joys throughout my life, but playing Halo in high school and making my own LAN cable is a top 10 moment. When Infection (humans vs. zombies) was introduced to the series, it came close. Now it’s coming back in Halo Infinite, and the development team over at 343 Industries has given us a lot of info to chew on while we wait for its return.

What is Infection mode in Halo?

Introduced in Halo 2 and carried on throughout the series (well, until the launch of Infinite), Infection is a two-team mode that pits humans against a team of zombies. This quick summation from 343 does a great job of explaining why it was such a hit:

“Everyone starts on one side, as a survivor. Everyone but the single Alpha Infected, that is. If you get killed by the Alpha Infected, you switch sides and become an Infected. It boils down to this: can the survivors survive until the end of the round, as they get whittled down by the Infected? It leads to some awesome, last man standing ‘Get to the chopper’ style moments.”

It came out near the start of the zombie resurgence in the 2000s, and was a massive hit for the community. Its popularity never truly waned, and it remained a staple of Halo for over a decade.

How and why did it return?

343 notes that a lot of people on the development team “cut their teeth” on the mode as part of the community, and grew up to become Halo developers, so they knew what it meant to Halo fans as a whole. Because of that, some members of the team made it a priority to

Curiously, there’s a narrative aspect at play with this new iteration of Infection:

“In this iteration of Infection there’s a narrative reason why the Spartans are turning on each other. The Season 3 story left off with the Banished AI Iratus infiltrating the Spartan training simulation and exerting his will to take control. This will be reflected in the appearance of Infected players, as well as new VO reflecting the altered reality.”

Ha! I’m getting Mega Man X series Maverick flashbacks here. I really like the idea of leaning heavily into the return of Infection from a lore standpoint, rather than dumping it on playlists and calling it a day. Mechanically things will be a bit different, as weapons spawn “on the bodies of dead Spartans around the map,” which adds another layer to the moment-to-moment gameplay as you attempt to scavenge your fallen allies.

There will also be nine remixed maps that add little touches to the Infection theme, which include barricades and “new sections” (one example was adding new tunnels to Behemoth).

When does Infection come out for Halo Infinite?

Infection will release at the start of Season 4 on June 20.

Season 4 will also introduce more maps, extra equipment, and a career rank system.