Halo Infinite: A secret ending cutscene has been discovered by fans

Warning: Spoilers for Halo Infinite's campaign follow, so proceed with caution!

What you need to know

• Halo Infinite players have discovered an unused mid-credits ending cutscene that suggests a new ally has been found at Zeta Halo following the conclusion of the game's story.
• Many are speculating that this ally could be Captain Lasky, Spartan Locke, the Spartans of Blue Team, or the Spirit of Fire from Halo Wars 2. Some even believe that it could be the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios.
• It's likely that we'll see this ally in action in future Halo Infinite story DLCs.

The Halo Infinite campaign has been out for some time now, and most fans have had enough time to digest the implications of the game's story as well as the Halo Infinite ending and post-credits scene. However, some fans have made a brand new discovery — in the depths of Halo Infinite's files, there's an unused and unfinished ending cutscene that was originally intended to play mid-way through the credits.

In the cutscene, The Pilot (also known as Fernando Esparza) is awoken by an alert from his Pelican dropship — much like he was in Halo Infinite's opening cutscene. Esparza looks outside of the Pelican's viewport and immediately freezes, calling Master Chief into the cockpit. As Chief walks in, sees what's outside, and shares a look of surprise with Esparza, the Pelican's computer states that a UNSC tag has been detected and that the tag's designation is friendly. The scene then ends, leaving fans to wonder who — or what — has been found. You can watch the cutscene below.

Many fans are speculating that Chief and Esparza may have come across some notable allies that were absent from Halo Infinite's base campaign, such as Captain Lasky and Commander Palmer, Spartan Locke, or the Spartans of Blue Team. Some also believe that the friendly tag belongs to the Spirit of Fire and her crew, who may have traveled to Zeta Halo from The Ark following the events of Halo Wars 2. There are even people speculating that this could be the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios, as the UNSC could have created a friendly tag for the Arbiter and his forces.

Ultimately, only time will tell who these allies are, but it's clear that since the Banished still control most of Zeta Halo and since Atriox has likely released The Endless, Master Chief and company are going to need all the help they can get. Hopefully we'll get to see these allies in action in future Halo Infinite Story DLCs.

The Halo Infinite campaign is available now for $60 on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs. It's one of the best Xbox shooters ever made, so you should definitely pick it up and give it a shot.