With this in mind Halo Infinite developer Halo Studios said The game’s big Operation Infinite update last November would be its lastme — along with others Hello fans — we thought we’d never see new free-to-play content again Xbox and PC live service shooter. That assumption turned out to be wrong, but as of this week, the studio added a new Gauntlet mode to the game in a surprise update.
The update came out of nowhere, raising questions about whether or not Halo Studios indeed is done with Halo Infinitebut that is not the topic of this article. Instead, I’m here to let you know how much fun the new Gauntlet gametype is and why I’d probably grind it out if I could convince my friends to join my fireteam.
Article continues below
Gauntlet is designed for 4 players. We kept losing. We tested it with 8 players. We kept losing. This is a MUST PLAY Halo PvE experience. pic.twitter.com/eGpJp6nCEMMay 6, 2026
I’ve been on the regimen for a few hours today and I’m ecstatic to report that it’s a must explosion — though it’s also surprisingly difficult, and harder than Halo Infinite’s existing Firefight PvE. Outside of the legendary campaign difficulty, this is the closest thing we’ve ever had to the ultimate Halo PvE experience.
Even on the “Easy” difficulty early in the match, the Outcasts are just as threatening as the Heroic campaign. AI — and the difficulty continues to increase as you progress, requiring better accuracy, positioning and the use of different weapons with each passing round. Banished’s endless waves also mean the action is intense and constant; perfect for players like me who crave the chaos of Halo PvE.
It also requires really smart use of Halo’s sandbox, as the game encourages you to kill bosses quickly, making it easy to combine different types of damage for maximum kill efficiency. An Elite boss with a shield is best hit with plasma weapons, followed by a clean headshot with a precision weapon, while a Gravity Hammer-wielding Brute or Hunter is most vulnerable to explosive heavy weapons or nimble plasma grenade rods.
Now is not the mode perfect — I feel like it lacks adequate cover in some of its combat stages, the timer to get weapons and upgrades is frustratingly short, and the overall experience is a bit confusing because Halo Studios uses Forge mode to do it — but it’s still great fun and the popular PvE action Halo is known for.
So far, the community agrees: “The Gauntlet is some of the most fun I’ve had in Halo PvE in a long time,” he says. One of the best posts on the Halo subreddit now.
In general, I wanted something like this for Halo PvE yearsand I’m so glad we finally got it. I hope we get something similar in the next main Halo game, or maybe as an upcoming mode Halo: The campaign has evolved at some point after launch.
Are you going to head over to Halo Infinite to check out Gauntlet mode? Let me know in the comments and in our poll.
Join us Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your thoughts and discuss our latest news, reviews and more.
