Halo Infiniteis a game that has seen its ups and downs within the community, with one of the strongest points of contention being the lack of map variety.343ilooks to alleviate this issue by implementing community-made maps into match rotation.
The Halo community has been diving deep into the title’s Forge mode, remaking classic maps and producing new ones that rival the classic. While the mode has been celebrated by fans it hasn’t always been easy to play the community creations. In December 2022 Infinite was updated with a custom game browser making it easier for players to search for the newest and coolest community creations.
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There were a few downsides of the browser, however, in that it was driven by community engagement, which meant that depending on when a player logged in there might not be enough players for a full lobby. It was also possible for game hosts to remove players from the current lobby, locking that player out of that particular game. Finally, the browser did not count toward Battle Pass XP as it was not a matchmaking mode. With this new update, 343i looks to fix these failings while giving the larger community new maps with more to be added to rotation in the future.
The latest update for Halo Infinite adds a new playlist called the Community Collection which brings four community maps into matchmaking, two remakes, and two original creations. The remakes are Salvation, which is a Banished-themed remake of Damnation from Combat Evolved, and Starboard, a UNSC-themed remake of Midship from Halo 2. The original maps are Absolution and Perilous, with both of these taking inspiration from Halo’s past to deliver fresh new maps. Absolution takes cues from Halo 2’s Sanctuary and Halo 3’s Guardian to deliver on the classic Forerunner theme of sci-fi architecture with lush green. Finally, there is Perilous, a jungle base that takes heavy inspiration from Halo 2’s Lockout.
These new maps being added to matchmaking is a great way for players to jump back into Halo Infinite while they wait for Season 3. With 343 saying that this playlist will be updated with more maps this also gives creators a chance to let their maps shine, possibly becoming fan favorites along the way. The Community Collection is currently live on all platforms.
