Halo Infinite's Forge got a game-changing update that allows forgers to create Pokemon clones, MOBAs, and Kaiju boss fights

Master Chief's armour from Halo: CE follows Master Chief's model from Halo Infinite.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Players are creating entirely different games within Halo Infinite’s Forge tool following a mega-update to the custom map editor.

Forge is a longtime series tool that allows players to edit existing maps, create their own from scratch, and even dream up whole new game modes using Halo’s chaotic alien sandbox. But with the release of Season 5: Reckoning - which dropped on October 17th - developer 343 has added NPCs to Halo Infinite’s toolset, allowing players to manipulate the behavior of grunts, brutes, and other enemies. 

Calling the update a game-changer wouldn’t be an exaggeration since, well, players have literally been recreating other games within Halo Infinite’s Forge. Over on Twitter, DanTheBloke showed off their “Pokemon battle arena.” The player somehow managed to stuff various aliens into balls which you can throw, before setting two teams off in a cage fight. There are health bars too! All it needs now is some XP and we can have a proper train/battle/gym loop.

Another forger went backward in the Halo space-time continuum and recreated the final mission from Halo: Combat Evolved. In a video posted to Reddit, The Maw’s tight warthog run stayed intact with the remake, complete with the original’s badass music. 

Rather than turning Halo into a different classic game, some forgers instead switched genres, turning the FPS into a light MOBA. On ResetEra, user Gowans created a single-lane MOBA mode “over the space of 90 minutes and with zero experience of Forge coding.” The mode sees opposing grunt swarms blasting at each other until the enemy base (Sentinel, in this case) is destroyed. 

Firefight vs Giants from r/halo

Of course, forged modes would be incomplete without the purely whacky ones. Redditor loudmaryjane expanded the already-scary hunters until they reached a towering size and, to top it off, the custom level loosely resembles a city. So that’s basically a Spartans versus Kaiju mode. 

Countless other clips have circulated online as forgers experiment with survival modes, escort missions, and battle royales. Halo Infinite’s Forge already spawned a million creations and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a million more with this update. All things considered, Halo Infinite’s fifth season has given the struggling shooter a much-needed boost thanks to the gorgeous new maps, interesting Forge creations, and the upcoming PvE mode.

Here’s our guide to every Xbox Game Studio and what they’re working on.

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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