Surprise Halo Infinite Update Adds Brand-New Game Mode

Halo Studios recently rolled out a new update for Halo Infinite, introducing the new Firefight: Gauntlet mode for players to check out. This update should come as a pleasant surprise for many players who thought Halo Infinite was done receiving significant new content.

While many fans might be waiting for Halo: Campaign Evolved to release later this year, some franchise fans continue to boot up Halo Infinite. Despite releasing in 2021, the game is still the most recent mainline Halo game. Over the years, the developers have released numerous content updates to keep the multiplayer side of things feeling fresh. However, major updates for the game were supposedly finished at the end of 2025, with the studio looking toward future games. Despite this, new content has unexpectedly dropped.

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Gauntlet Puts a New Spin on the Firefight Experience in Halo Infinite

On May 5, Halo Studios released a surprise update for Halo Infinite. Specifically, this update added a new PvE multiplayer mode to the game called Firefight: Gauntlet. As the name suggests, this mode is an offshoot of the existing Firefight for Halo Infinite. According to the patch notes, four players take on five arenas of challenging enemies, including champions with powerful weapons and gear. The waves of enemies are endless until the squad takes down the arena’s champion to advance.

Balance the critic averages

Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)

Adding to the replayability of the mode, players are sent to a hub area after successfully completing each round. Here, players can select their loadouts and upgrade their four attributes: Damage, Recovery, Resistance, and Speed. These attributes can be leveled up by spending points earned through completing rounds and other objectives in a match, allowing players to better fine-tune their Spartan to their preferred play style.

Besides the hub area, Firefight: Gauntlet features more dynamic fights thanks to the new “AI Aggro” system. As explained by the developer, players gain the attention of enemies by getting kills. Conversely, standing in a Shroud Screen will decrease their attention level. It is worth noting that the champion of a respective arena will target the player with the most attention. By understanding the intricacies of this system, players can potentially use “AI Aggro” to their advantage during the increasingly more difficult rounds of the mode.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

It is nice to see Halo Infinite get new content for the fans who continue to return to the game years after launch. For those who want to check out the mode, it will be part of its own limited-time playlist, going by the name: The Gauntlet. There are two maps made in Halo Infinite‘s Forge, Munera Platform H6 and Munera Platform W4, that players can play on. While the playlist will rotate out matchmaking on May 19, Gauntlet and its maps will then be added to the Firefight playlist.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the year has in store for Halo fans. Halo: Campaign Evolved will launch sometime in 2026, bringing the franchise to PlayStation for the first time. In addition, there have been remake rumors for Halo 2 and Halo 3. While nothing has been confirmed on this front, the Xbox Games Showcase for 2026 is scheduled for June 7. The event could give an update on the Halo franchise.

Halo Infinite Firefight: Gauntlet Update – Patch Notes

Published: May 5, 2026

Download Size by Platform

Xbox consoles: 10.2 GB or less
Microsoft Store app or Xbox app on PC: 7.1 GB or less
Steam: 1.9 GB or less

New Features

This update brings a new Firefight game mode and a new featured rotational playlist to Halo Infinite.

New Multiplayer Mode – Firefight: Gauntlet

In the new Gauntlet game mode, four players must work together to survive a series of challenging, high-intensity battle arena simulations. Each battle arena is defended by endless waves of enemy forces, which can only be stopped by defeating the arena’s champions. Waves within a battle arena will become more intense over time and, if players take too long to defeat the arena’s champions, the Harbinger will enter the fray too. As players progress through the map’s five battle arenas, the difficulty level of the enemy AI will also increase.

Once an arena’s champions are defeated, players will have 30 seconds in the hub area to restock their weapons and equipment before they are sent to the next arena.

Player attributes can be upgraded by redeeming points at the designated terminals in the hub area. The four available player attributes are:

Damage: increases the amount of damage dealt by a player’s weapon and melee attacks.
Recovery: reduces the amount of time before a player’s shields and health begin restoring after taking damage.
Resistance: increases the amount of damage that a player’s shields and health can take before the player is downed.
Speed: increases the speed of all player actions, including player movement, reload speed, and recovery from performing melee attacks.

Each of the four player attributes listed above has its own four upgrade tiers. These tiers alternate between weak and strong upgrades. Players start with one upgrade point, and additional points can be earned by completing rounds or other special achievements.

The Gauntlet game mode also introduces a new “AI Aggro” system, which tracks and displays how the enemy’s attention is divided amongst players. A player can attract attention by eliminating enemies, and they can reduce their amount of attention by standing within a Shroud Screen. The player with the most enemy attention is marked by the VIP visual effects and they will be targeted by the arena’s champions. Players can also view the enemies’ attention distribution during gameplay by using the Custom Input prompt listed on-screen. A player’s enemy attention is reset upon respawning.

If a player is downed by enemy AI units, they will drop a revive orb. Other players can approach the revive orb and use the listed interaction button or deploy a Repair Field equipment to bring their teammate back into the action. Alternatively, downed players will respawn after 30 seconds. The match ends in a victory if players can complete all 5 battle arena simulations. If all four players are downed at the same time, the match ends in a defeat.

Various aspects of Gauntlet are randomized in each match. These randomized elements include the following:

Players will see all five of the map’s battle arenas in each match, but the order in which they see them will be randomized.
The types of enemy waves seen in each arena are randomized.
The champions in each arena are randomized.
- If a champion is not clearly visible in a battle arena, they may be using Active Camo.
When entering the hub area, empty power weapon slots in the armory are restocked with a random power weapon.
- When a champion is defeated, their weapon will become available in the next restock of the armory’s weapon slots. A champion’s weapon can be retrieved from the armory multiple times in a match, including repeated use by the same player or different players.

Power equipment can be equipped from the armory in the hub area but, unlike power weapons, they are not restocked between battle arenas. Each power equipment has additional effects in the Gauntlet game mode:

Active Camo removes all enemy AI attention from the player.
Overshields instantly refill a player’s health and shields as well as provide a 15-second window of invincibility. Activating an Overshield will also draw all enemy attention to the player.
Repulsors stun non-champion enemies in their tracks. Arena champions, however, will not be stunned by a Repulsor.

For more information on the playlist and mode, visit the “Firefight: Gauntlet” article on Halo Waypoint.

Gauntlet Maps: Munera Platform H6 and Munera Platform W4

Two new Forge maps are compatible with the Gauntlet game mode, each with their own unique battle arenas.

The battle arenas on the map Munera Platform H6 include a Banished train car, a volcanic UNSC base, and a Flood-infested Forerunner facility.

The map Munera Platform W4 includes battle arenas such as a pristine Forerunner chamber, a UNSC hanger, and a Banished excavation site located in a Forerunner facility.

New Featured Rotational Playlist: The Gauntlet

To celebrate its addition in this update, a new featured rotational playlist focused on Gauntlet is now available in Halo Infinite matchmaking.

The Gauntlet featured rotational playlist is currently scheduled to rotate out of matchmaking on May 19, 2026. After the Gauntlet featured playlist rotates out on May 19, the maps and mode will be added to the Firefight staple playlist.

Known Issues

With this update, the team has added new issues to our Known Issues lists:

Multiplayer

Menus

The following stats in the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) scoreboard always display a value of “0” after completing a match of the Gauntlet game mode:
- Rounds Won
- Max Killing Spree
- Grenade Kills
- Headshot Kills
- Melee Kills
- Power Weapon Kills

Gameplay

Players who join in-progress matches of Gauntlet start with 1 upgrade point regardless of how many upgrade points have been earned by the other players in the match.
When viewing the “Enemy AI Aggro” status during a match of Gauntlet, longer Gamertags may appear to overlap with the other listed Gamertags.
Occasionally, players may temporarily become stuck in place during matches of Gauntlet.
- Workaround: Player movement will be restored after a few seconds pass.
Rarely, players who are downed at the end of a round of Gauntlet may not transition back to the hub area. When this occurs, affected players are transitioned to the next battle arena once the restock period has ended.