Today we’re excited to share some news about new community made maps coming to Ranked and, for the first time in Halo Infinite, the Halo Championship Series as well. Let’s get into it!

On March 26^th, Strongholds on Solitude was removed from Ranked Arena and the HCS Map pool based on community feedback and match data that showed the gametype was significantly more prone to blowouts than Strongholds on Live Fire & Recharge, as well as every other gametype combination in the HCS. While we’d been keeping a close eye on it and working to make improvements, we felt it was best to remove early in the season and work towards finding a suitable replacement.

We’ve been working with the Forge community to bring new maps to Ranked and to find a better Strongholds map for both Ranked Arena and HCS. We are happy to announce that the map "Interference" will be entering the Map Rotations for Ranked Arena and the HCS starting tomorrow April 23rd!

We want to give a big shout out and thanks to Astro CSF, and we’re looking forward to this map joining Ranked and HCS.

Ranked Arena

On Tuesday April 23^rd, three game modes on Interference will be live in the Ranked Arena playlist:

HCS

Beginning with the HCS Open Series tournaments on May 5^th, Interference Strongholds will be introduced into the HCS map pool. This will give players some time to practice and strategize on the gametype before the first implementation into tournament play. This gametype will also be included in the map rotation for the HCS Major Qualifiers the weekend of May 11^th, and the HCS London Major hosted by Quadrant from May 31st to June 2nd.

THINGS TO KNOW

The power up on this map is the Overshield. Players familiar with “The Rig” from Halo 5 may remember that Active Camo was the original power up. Overshield was chosen due to the impact Active Camo had in power curves during playtests – it often resulted in huge swings in momentum, while the Overshield still creates moments of opportunity to turn the tide of a game without the pendulum swinging too far. We’ll be keeping a close eye on performance over the rest of the season.

For the first time in Ranked play, a map will have differing weapon and equipment layouts depending on the mode played. Slayer and King of the Hill have a Sniper Rifle present, while Strongholds does not. In Interference Strongholds testing, the Sniper Rifle felt too powerful considering the many lines of sight on the Strongholds locations with limited exposure or vulnerability to the player wielding the Snipe.

We look forward to seeing this map in action. Good luck out there, Spartans!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

We’ve been seeing a lot of feedback in the community about wanting more maps for Ranked. As mentioned above, we have been working closely with Forgers in the community to bring more to the playlists. This is a very extensive process of playtesting and iterating continuously to ensure the maps meet the nuanced requirements and standards for Ranked gameplay. We’re actively working with members of the Forge community on two more maps – one more remake and one totally new design. Keep an eye on the broadcast at the HCS London Major where you’ll get a first look!

Thank you again to everyone for your continued support of Halo Infinite and the Halo Championship Series!