Halo Infinite is Getting Master Chief's Combat Evolved Armor

Master Chief's classic Combat Evolved armor will be making its way into Halo Infinite next month as an armor kit available in the store. While Halo Infinite launched in 2021 to praise for its open-world story campaign and fluid multiplayer feel, the game increasingly suffered detrimental player dropoffs in the months following, as developer 343 Industries struggled to provide enough new maps and modes on a regular basis to satisfy the playerbase.

Recently, 343 Industries has been able to update the game with new content at a steadier pace. While this hasn't launched the game back into the same atmosphere as other highly successful multiplayer games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, Overwatch 2, and Apex Legends, 343's improvements have been able to garner and retain a smaller community of dedicated fans. Halo Infinite had recently detailed its fifth season named Reckoning coming October 17. Along with the new Extraction game mode and two new arena maps, Season 5 brings another free 20-tier battle pass and Flood-themed cosmetic items. Additionally, the new season will make all helmets compatible with all armor cores and will allow players to earn XP in custom matches.

In the lead up to Season 5's launch, 343 Industries posted a customization overview for the new season on Halo Waypoint detailing all the new cosmetic items and improvements on the way, including all the Flood-inspired armor pieces and weapons. In the post, 343 revealed that Master Chief's original Mjolnir Mark V armor from his breakout debut game Halo: Combat Evolved will come to Halo Infinite in the form of an armor kit available to purchase in the shop on November 7. Additionally, Chief's Mark VI armor from Infinite's campaign will also become available as an armor kit, earnable by reaching Hero in ranked.

Like Infinite's other armor kits such as Halo Reach's Catherine and Emile, the Mark V and VI armor pieces won't be able to mix and match, and the helmets won't be usable on other fully customizable armor cores. However, 343 added that players will still be able to customize these armor kits with emblems, visors, coatings, and effects. While 343 has finally walked back armor core exclusivity for helmets with this new season, it'll be interesting to see if the studio will ever allow armor pieces that are part of established character kits to be used on other kits and cores.

Master Chief's Mark V armor coming to Halo Infinite is fitting considering Infinite served as a return-to-roots soft reboot for Xbox's premier sci-fi FPS franchise. The fact that it's becoming available during Season 5 alongside all the Flood-themed battle pass cosmetics makes the season feel like a true callback to Combat Evolved. Since the campaign lacked any hint toward a possible return of the Flood, perhaps Season 5 is potentially teasing the Halo faction's dreaded resurgence in a future installment.

Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.