“Personally, I’d be open to a Halo extraction shooter” — Halo Studios reportedly abandons battle royale and pivots to a different style. Here’s what that means.

In the latest report from Mr Rebs, who I’ve covered quite a bit recently, we’ve got some new details on Halo’s battle royale, what it became, and what may have happened next.

As always, it’s worth taking this with a grain of salt. Nothing here is officially confirmed, but Mr Rebs has a fairly solid track record, so with that in mind, let’s dive in.

In Mr Rebs’ latest report, he details Tatanka, a codename that was believed to be a battle royale mode tied to Halo Infinite and its multiplayer story narrative.

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According to the report, the project was actually a separate experience developed by Certain Affinity and 343 Industries (now Halo Studios), built using Halo’s Slipspace engine, which is now no longer in use.

The mode would have featured maps based on classics like Blood Gulch and Valhalla, with players dropping in via drop pods.

However, the project was ultimately dropped as the battle royale wasn’t working and the space became increasingly oversaturated. Rebs also states that while some elements worked well, the overall concept did not fully land with developers.

Development was paused in 2022, before the project evolved into Project Eker and moved over to Unreal Engine, something Halo is already transitioning toward with efforts like Project Foundry and Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Project Eker, according to Rebs, was a PvE extraction shooter, with the last confirmed development status dating back to 2023.

Its current status remains unclear, with conflicting reports. Some suggest Eker is now a solo Halo multiplayer project, while others believe it has been folded into the next mainline Halo title, which I assume would be Halo 7.

That’s all the report covers for now, but it does raise some interesting possibilities. Personally, I’d be open to a Halo extraction shooter, especially if, like ARC Raiders, it leans more into the social side of the experience.

That said, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Would you be interested in a standalone Halo multiplayer project, or would you rather see the next multiplayer experience tied directly to a single-player campaign?

Let me know in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!

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