Halo Infinite is getting Firefight mode and it looks spectacular

Halo Infinite‘s upcoming mid-season update is bringing with it a range of new features, but the resurrection of the beloved Firefight player vs. environment (PvE) mode seems likely to take the cake when the patch comes tomorrow, December 5.

As shown off in a fresh trailer from developer 343 Industries, the new Firefight: King of the Hill mode will have you and three other players battle waves of aliens as you strive to capture hills across a total of nine maps. According to the trailer itself and Halo Waypoint – the official Halo blog – these maps include the House of Reckoning from Halo Infinite‘s campaign and three maps made by members of the community. 

It looks like the new mode will fit into the existing leveling and battle pass ecosystem too, since, according to the trailer, players in Firefight will be able to “earn career rank and match XP” just like in player vs. player (PvP).

The trailer looks gorgeous, showing off a gang of Spartans roaming about in a Warthog before being rear-ended by a Hunter – a walking alien battle tank. Fortunately for our heroes, there’s a new item being added to the game: the Repair Field. This will allow players to mend their vehicles on the fly, without having to wait for a respawn. For maps with lots of vehicles, this could be a game-changer.  

For those new to the party, Halo‘s legendary Firefight mode began as part of Halo 3: ODST, which had you play as regular humans – a stark contrast to the Spartan supersoldiers of previous games. You’d have to hold off waves of alien enemies as they became progressively tougher. Modifiers of all kinds spiced up proceedings, too, making the mode a fan favorite. 

The mid-season update will also bring improvements to Ranked player game modes as well as updates to the ever-popular Forge mode, which allows players to build their own maps. Improvements have also been made to the Custom Game Browser and to Halo Infinite‘s stability and network infrastructure. 

Want more thrills? Check out our lists of the best FPS games and the best co-op games.