Following the transition from Bungie to 343 Industries in developing Halo games, several new antagonistic enemies and factions have been introduced in the series. With Halo 4, both the Forerunner Promethean Knights and Jul ‘Mdama’s Covenant remnant faction were introduced as a way for Covenant aliens to remain as hostiles and for the Knights to serve as a new third faction to replace the Flood. With Halo 5: Guardians, ‘Mdma’s Covenant fell while the Knights became controlled by Cortana and allied with the new artificial intelligence-led Created faction. In Halo Wars 2, the Banished were introduced to replace ‘Mdama’s faction as Halo’s new alien antagonists, but one new Banished unit may serve as new antagonistic leads for Halo 7: rogue Spartans.
Should Halo Infinite Be Master Chief's Last Game?
While I like Master Chief as much as the next Halo fan, I think the series would be better off with a new protagonist moving forward. It's not that I don't like Chief as a character — he's had an awesome run, but I do wish we had a main character who was a bit more expressive.
Halo’s Emerging Banished Spartans
In 2024, several new Halo Waypoint Chronicle articles were published, slowly introducing the concept of new Spartan-like super soldiers being aligned with the Banished. Unlike the original or ‘Mdama’s Covenant, the Banished were not opposed to enlisting humans within their ranks, as they welcomed all species into the Banished so long as they swore loyalty to the faction’s leader Atriox and his goals. While Atriox’s view on humans has soured due to the ongoing conflict on the Ark with the Spirit of Fire and Cortana destroying the Brute homeworld of Doisac, the Banished are still utilizing humans to bolster their endeavors.
The Chronicle Halo: The Third Life, showcased how one of the original Spartan-IV’s, Ilsa Zane, was captured and later recruited by the Banished after a Guardian emerged from the planet Laika III. Zane usurped control of the human insurrectionist faction, the New Colonial Alliance, after she killed their leader Admiral Mattius Drake and dedicated its forces to the Banished. In Halo: Anvil Accord, Spartans and Swords of Sanghelios Elites are shown testing and investigating the origins of the Assailer power armor after it was found worn by Venezian Janissaries. The Janissaries are mysterious super-soldiers originating from the independent Outer Colony world of Venezia, inhabited by humans and aliens alike.
The Origins of Banished Spartans
Halo Waypoint’s latest Chronicle, Halo: Venezian Sonata, follows ONI Agent Veronica Dare going on a special ops mission to investigate an intriguing lead on Venezia two-and-a-half months before the beginning of Halo Infinite. Here, Dare discovers adolescents ranging from children to teenagers, being kidnapped and enlisted into Venezia’s Janissary program to serve the Banished and other mercenary factions as a new form of rogue Spartans. Inspired by Dr. Halsey’s augmentation of children for the Spartan-II program, a Yonhet called M'raad has begun augmenting the adolescents and armoring them with Venezia designed power armor such as the Assailer armor.
The term Janissary is derived from an elite military unit made up of kidnapped children drafted and trained to serve the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to early 19th century.
Banished Spartan’s Potential Role in Halo 7
With Halo Waypoint increasingly telling stories focusing on the emergence of Janissaries, it seems these new rogue Spartans may have an important role to play in the Halo universe going forward, either in expanded media or in Halo 7. Janissaries have yet to appear in more popular Halo media, though they may potentially remain restricted in written form and pop up only in expanded media such as the upcoming Halo: Empty Throne novel. If 343 Industries has faith in this new Banished unit, Janissaries could appear as potential primary or secondary antagonists in Halo 7 alongside ordinary Banished troops.
343 could use Janissaries as an evolved form of Halo’s bosses, possibly playing more like tougher players from multiplayer but in the campaign. Instead of fighting Brutes, Jackals, Hunters, or Grunts as bosses in Halo Infinite, each boss in Halo 7 could be a Janissary, utilizing different equipment such as unique armor abilities or modified weapons and vehicles to make each boss scenario distinct. Janissaries could even make Halo 5’s marketing of fighting Spartans a reality by making antagonistic Spartans a challenge in gameplay instead of showing fights only in cutscenes. At the very least, Janissaries could further diversify Halo’s enemy pool and combat scenarios beyond common Covenant species.
Halo Infinite
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 94%
- Released
- December 8, 2021
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 343 Industries
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
- Slipspace
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.
With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you can relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.
Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.
Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
