Will Halo Infinite follow Halo Wars 2 plot?

Games Halo Infinite
1

Could Halo Infinite be a self contained story set after Halo 5 but which doesn’t immediately go into “take back earth” mode? Like Halo Wars 2, where Cortana taking over the galaxy does set up the scenario (Atriox not needing to worry about UNSC fleet, portal being closed), but it’s not about her. Instead they encounter a new threat whilst uncovering the mysteries and activating the Ark. Apply this to Halo Infinite, humanity is stuck on the ring, activating it could help them, maybe the Banished or Flood get involved?

I think there’s a few reasons why they should go with this idea:

  1. Cortana taking over the galaxy is too big a plot point to resolve in one game. It fundamentally changes the setting. Having her be a presence but not the main thing would help anchor players in what really is a new setting to the one at the start of Halo 4.

  2. If Chief gets a new AI it really makes sense for them have their own adventure together first.

  3. Actually having the Chief without Cortana would stress that he’s actually lost her.

  4. Having a soft reboot with a fairly safe retelling of Halo CE would make sense. You can still continue the story but make it seem like a fresh start.

  5. It’s a good way to introduce new enemies be they the Banished or the Flood without them being overshadowed (Gravemind needs to have more than one planet to be in the same league).

  6. You can’t have a game whose selling point is “you’re on a Halo!” if you spend most of it off the Halo fighting the machines.

Edit - I mean the trailer didn’t have an “oh no she’s found us” vibe, it looked like the humans had stumbled onto this abandoned super weapon. So maybe most of the game is Chief trying to reactivate it, rather than the station being under siege or a race to gain control of the ring?

2

Good points. I think I like this idea, would be a nice change of pace like HW2 was.

3

I think Infinite will not necessarily be a self contained story, but rather a soft reboot that continues the story from Halo 5. How that works…or if it will work remains to be seen. The only evidence I have of this is this quote from Frank O’Connor:

“It will take place after the events of Halo 5 but feel new to new players. Remember how Halo CE woke you up in the middle of a war you had apparently been fighting?”

Though if they are going with the CE vibe, then the OP’s idea of a “self-contained” story could still apply as CE was relitevly self contained with a solid ending. It just depends on how they tell the story.