Halo Infinite’s latest update, “Operation: Great Journey,” revives classic Halo 2 nostalgia, arriving just days before the 20th anniversary of Halo 2 on 9 November. This update brings back iconic multiplayer maps in the Delta Arena playlist, designed to mimic the best of Halo 2’s gameplay with recreated fan-favourite maps and modes like Slayer, Oddball, Capture the Flag, and King of the Hill. Notably, players start with the MA5K Avenger, a weapon crafted in homage to Halo 2’s beloved SMG.

Evan Colson, a Halo Infinite designer, told Xbox Wire that while recreating Halo 2’s movement was straightforward, truly capturing its feel was more challenging.

“While utilising custom game settings to recreate Halo 2’s movement is relatively easy, capturing that classic ‘feel’ was a bit harder to nail down. Considering all the subtle difference between Halo Infinite and Halo 2, a 1:1 recreation was never quite in the cards, but what we did come to was that of an amalgamation between the two, with settings that move like legacy Halo, but plays with elements of the modern sandbox.”

This update also includes a new third-person mode, revealed at the recent Halo World Championship, broadening gameplay options for Halo Infinite. And there’s more for PC players: Microsoft is releasing the original Halo 2 demo from E3 2003 as a mod for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, set to launch on 9 November on the Steam Workshop.

This update comes following Microsoft’s rebranding of 343 Industries to Halo Studios last month, now actively developing multiple Unreal Engine 5 Halo projects, including a battle royale mode initially spearheaded by Certain Affinity.