Future Halo 5: Guardians content was teased by 343 Industries Wednesday with the release of the Hammer Storm update to the Xbox One exclusive. Halo fans have long lamented the absence of Firefight in both Halo 4 and the current release. That’s going to change in the coming months, according to an update from the developer.
The news of Firefight being added to Halo 5 first hit at the end of the Hammer Storm update launch trailer . A brief teaser of the new Warzone Firefight was shown as a team of five Spartans was shown assaulting a group of AI-controlled enemies.
This was followed by an official post made by 343 Industries Community Manager Andy “Bravo” Dudynsky on Xbox Wire . It includes the following graphic showing the four free DLC releases so far plus the next four that are on the way.
The upcoming DLC releases are named Ghosts of Meridian, Memories of Reach, Hog Wild, and Warzone Firefight. Aside from Warzone Firefight, Memories of Reach is potentially the most interesting at the moment because of the mention of the pivotal planet in the Halo universe, plus it shows Jorge-052 in the image. Presumably, Halo players will see more Spartan armor based on the characters from Reach , but perhaps more is planned?
In addition to the teaser image, Dudynsky briefly gave a short explanation of what to expect from Warzone Firefight.
“Among the vast array of new modes coming to Halo over the next several months is one that our fans have repeatedly asked us to deliver – Firefight. The new mode, called ‘Warzone Firefight’, will bring PvE to Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer and let players battle together against common foes (and truly show off their custom Spartans to boot!) That’s all we’ll say for now, but trust us, we can’t wait to tell you more about Warzone Firefight in the coming months,” the Community Manager wrote.
For those who aren’t familiar, Firefight is Halo’s spin on co-op Horde mode made popular by Gears of War and other games. The wave-based survival mode was first introduced in Halo 3: ODST and also featured in Halo: Reach . Fans were disappointed when it was not included in Halo 4 and Halo 5 . However, 343 Industries appears to be rectifying that issue and adding it to the latest release in the franchise for free.
How 343 Industries changes up Firefight for Halo 5i remains to be seen. The fact that five Spartans were shown in the trailer instead of the traditional four suggests at least that change. Presumably, Warzone features such as being able to acquire REQs from terminals will also be used. Whether the traditional mechanics of the team sharing a pool of seven lives plus five waves making up a round and three rounds making up a set is retained will be something to keep an eye out on. The developers at the studio undoubtedly have some kind of new spin they want to throw in.
If 343 Industries continues to follow the schedule of releasing an update every month, Halo 5 should add Ghosts of Meridian in March, Memories of Reach in April, Hog Wild in May, and Warzone Firefight in June. It’s unknown if the developer will continue to support the game with new content past this point, but it previously pledged support for into summer 2016.
At the same time, Halo 5 continues to be popular. The REQ Pack microtransactions, for example, have earned enough money to add $1.5 million to the Halo World Championships prize pool, which now sits at $2.5 million. What will 343 Industries do if players are still actively involved through the final DLC release?
What do you think of Firefight returning in Halo 5 ? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Xbox Wire ]