Two days later, Halo Infinite players have built a full Pokemon battle arena in Forge

What you need to know

• This week, Halo Infinite grabbed a sizeable update as part of its Season 5 launch. 
• Reckoning is has added new maps, performance tweaks, a new Firefight mode mid-season, and more. 
• Reckoning also added NPC AI to Forge mode, vastly expanding the creative possibilities within the toolkit. 
• Players are already building intriguing mini-games and beyond using the toolkit, including an entire Pokemon-style battle arena from @DanTheBloke. 

Halo Infinite is enjoying something of a renaissance right now. 

Halo Infinite launched to widespread critical acclaim, owing to its fun shooter sandbox gameplay and tight, performant multiplayer. However, the honeymoon period was short-lived. Not long after launch, it became rapidly apparent that Halo Infinite's live service was underbaked. Fresh content and new seasons came along far slower than some of the game's contemporaries. The steep drop-off eventually led to a high-profile restructuring of developer 343i, which also saw franchise head Bonnie Ross leave Microsoft. 

A few years later, however, things started to look up a bit. Halo Infinite's player counts are resurging, and the seasonal content has become well-received. 

Season 5: Reckoning is a sizeable update for Halo Infinite, bringing a new battle pass to earn rewards through, in addition to new maps and the promise of Firefight mid-season. Additionally, it has also added a wealth of new content to Forge mode. Forge is Halo's user-generated content mode, capable of producing mini-games and new maps with an array of powerful tools. Reckoning added AI combatants to the fray, however, and players have already begun producing impressive results. 

Shared by @DanTheBloke on Twitter (X, via MintBlitz), one map showcases the power of the new scripting tools and NPC behavior to produce a Pokemon Stadium-style battle arena. Armed with a spawnable "Pokeball," DanTheBloke is able to spawn new units and pitch them in combat, complete with health bars. 

There are tons of examples on the #HaloForge hashtag showcasing how players are utilizing the new features. Players are building new maps, making fun art pieces, and building entire game modes using the toolkit. If Halo Infinite continues to grow in this way, there's no telling where it could all go. Many major games and even entire genres grew from user-generated content, and Forge really is starting to put the "Infinite" into the game's namesake. 

You can grab Halo Infinite multiplayer for free on Xbox and PC, with the campaign mode available for $60 or via Xbox Game Pass.