Halo Infinite will receive additional support from Halo 4 Forge and map co-developer Certain Affinity as 343 Industries recruits some outside muscle.
Certain Affinity briefly announced plans to collaborate on Halo Infinite earlier today. "We are deepening our relationship with 343 and have been entrusted with further evolving Halo Infinite in some new and exciting ways," the studio said in a vague statement.
343 Industries and Halo publisher Microsoft haven't commented on the implications of this new arrangement, and Certain Affinity's announcement leaves many questions unanswered, but the studio's history with the Halo franchise does give us some idea of what it could be working on.
Certain Affinity got into Halo in 2011 with the Xbox 360 release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, contributing seven co-op and PvP maps to the rerelease. Its stable also includes the Defiant Map pack for Halo: Reach as well as several Halo 4 PvP contributions including the Dominion mode and several maps.
Importantly, Certain Affinity was also co-developer on Halo 4's Forge mode. While handling Halo 2's updates for the Master Chief Collection, it created some assets for its Forge as well. 343 always held the reins, but Certain Affinity has repeatedly contributed features and content to Halo's sandbox map builder.
Since launch, Halo Infinite's multiplayer seasons have struggled to keep up with the expectations of today's live service market, and its Forge and co-op updates have also repeatedly been pushed back. We can only speculate at this stage, but given Halo Infinite's production challenges and Certain Affinity's history, it seems probable that 343 Industries is looking for help with PvP maps and/or Forge. If and how this affects the immediate release schedule or features of these game modes remains to be seen.
The recent Halo Infinite Season 2 reveal teases new content alongside player-driven changes.
