Halo Infinite's awesome Forge Mode hits over 1 million creations

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That's a lot of maps!

Halo Infinite
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

  • 343 Industries' Lead Forge Designer Michael Schorr has announced that since Forge Mode launched in November 2022, over 1 million creations have been made with it.
  • Additionally, over 8.5 million custom game matches have been played using the Custom Game Browser, a tool that allows players to host and join multiplayer lobbies for Forge maps.
  • Schorr also revealed that Halo Infinite's new Community Collection Forge matchmaking playlist has been the most popular one since the game's 2021 launch.
  • In the future, 343 plans to improve Forge by adding a new minigame mode and "new map budget categories."

Halo Infinite's Forge Mode became an instant hit when it launched in November 2022 in the game's Winter Update, as its advanced mapmaking capabilities are a huge step up from what was possible in previous iterations of the level editing and creation tool. Players have been churning out tons of high-quality maps, prefab structures, and more with Forge since its release, and thanks to a new blog post from 343 Industries' Lead Forge Designer Michael Schorr, we know exactly how busy the community has been.

In the article, Schorr reveals that as of January 2, 2023, over 1 million creations have been forged in the mode since the Winter Update. Additionally, a whopping 8.5 million+ matches have been played using Halo Infinite's Custom Game Browser, a feature added in December that allows fans to host, search for, and join custom games on Forge maps.

Salvation, one of the Forge maps included in Halo Infinite's Community Collection playlist. (Image credit: ForgEra)

Notably, Schorr also stated that Halo Infinite's Forge matchmaking playlist, Community Collection, has been the most popular new playlist in matchmaking since the original launch of Halo Infinite multiplayer in late 2021. In it, players can currently enjoy four of the most highly rated community-made Arena maps, though it's been confirmed that the playlist will "continue to be updated with even more community content in the future."

343 Industries' developers have plans to improve and expand Forge Mode itself, too. Schorr says that a new Forge minigame mode and "new map budget categories to help support your creativity" are on the way, and ahead of Forge's November 2022 launch, the studio confirmed it was working to add campaign AI spawns to Forge.

This news comes days before the launch of Halo Infinite Season 3, which will bring a new 100-tier Battle Pass, a Big Team Battle map, two Arena maps, and a Gun Game-style mode called Extraction Slayer. The season is also introducing a pair of new sandbox items: the smoke grenade-like Shroud Screen equipment and the M392 Bandit, a scopeless version of Halo: Reach's DMR. 

Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite

Despite its issues, there's plenty to like about Halo Infinite. The core multiplayer gameplay is great, and since it's free-to-play, there's no barrier to entry. The campaign is fantastic, too, as it features an excellent story, fun open world gameplay, and plenty of action-packed levels to play through.

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Brendan Lowry
Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).