Summary

• Halo Infinite's campaign skips key events between the end of Halo 5 and the beginning of Infinite.
• Cortana's reign involves Guardians deactivating the galaxy's tech, and the UNSC going into hiding.
• Banished overwhelmed UNSC forces on the Ark, and are set to return to the galaxy.

Halo Infinite has one of the most fascinating campaigns of the series, but it crucially leaves out many of the details regarding events that happened after the end of Halo 5: Guardians. The beginning of Halo Infinite starts roughly around December 13, 2559, when the Banished attack the UNSC Infinity and Master Chief is hurled from the ship by Atriox, but exactly how the Banished came to Zeta Halo in the first place isn't clearly explained at first.

At the end of Halo 5's campaign, a remnant fragment of Cortana took control of Forerunner weapons known as Guardians and sent them to planets with advanced life to deactivate most of their technology, but fortunately for humanity, the UNSC Infinity managed to escape the Guardians and go into hiding. Though this would seemingly set up Cortana and the Guardians to be the main antagonists of Infinite, the game instead stars Atriox and the Banished, a rebellious offshoot of the Covenant who had previously only appeared in the spin-off strategy game Halo Wars 2 and some Halo novels.

What Happened After Halo 5: Cortana & The UNSC

Halo Novels Expand On Cortana & The UNSC's Conflict

Shortly after the end of Halo 5, Cortana rallied other UNSC AI and created a coalition called "The Created," who believed themselves to be worthy of the Mantle of Responsibility, a philosophical theme in 343 Industries' Reclaimer Saga that dictates that the superior force of the galaxy should be in charge of all life within it. Because Cortana and the Created, as AI, can exist eternally in the Domain, an ancient digital network extending across the entire galaxy, and could therefore outlive any other forms of life, they believed they were the best choice to hold the Mantle.

The Mantle of Responsibility has been a major running theme in more recent Halo games: In Halo 4, for example, it was revealed that the Forerunners had planned for humanity to be their successors of the Mantle, and the Harbinger in Halo Infinite believed that the Endless should hold the Mantle, though she was stopped by Master Chief.

As Cortana and The Created spread their Guardians across the galaxy, the UNSC began to formulate a plan to stop them in the novel Halo: Bad Blood. With the help of Buck, Dare, and most of the reunited squad from the Halo 3: ODST campaign, Alpha Squad would go on to fight The Created forces alongside the UNSC, carrying out a covert mission to try and turn the tides against Cortana's faction. For months, the UNSC continued to fight the created as best as possible while developing a plan to stop Cortana.

In another novel, Halo: Shadows of Reach, Master Chief and the other of Blue Team were sent to Reach in October 2559. This was Operation: WOLFE, and it was the final major mission that Master Chief had completed before the beginning of Halo Infinite's campaign. Though Blue Team met resistance from Banished forces on Reach, they were able to complete their mission and retrieve vital research and equipment for Catherine Halsey, and thanks to the success of Blue Team, she was able to create an exact copy of Cortana, better known as "The Weapon" throughout the Halo Infinite campaign.

A little more than a month later, the final steps of the UNSC's plan to stop Cortana by trapping and eliminating her with The Weapon was beginning to turn as the Infinity arrived at Zeta Halo. Halsey had successfully recreated a copy of Cortana, and Master Chief successfully deployed her on Zeta Halo. After Cortana's lockdown, Master Chief was supposed to retrieve her, but the Banished attacked and overwhelmed the Infinity. This is where the first mission of Halo Infinite's campaign begins.

What Happened After Halo 5: The Banished & The Spirit Of Fire

How Atriox & The Banished Became Halo Infinite's Main Antagonists

While the UNSC was trying to survive Cortana and her Guardians, the Spirit of Fire was transported to the Ark after being declared lost with all hands on deck. Not knowing where they were, the Spirit of Fire deployed Spartan Red Team for a reconnaissance mission to the facility below them. It's here that the events of Halo Wars 2 take place, as Spartan Red Team encounters Atriox and the Banished. At the end of Halo 3, the portal that led players to the Ark had remained open and occupied by USNC forces. However, Cortana's activation of the Guardians left the occupants stranded.

A month after the portal was shut down, Halo Infinite's main antagonists, the Banished, arrived at the Ark via a path that took them eight months of travel, overwhelming and nearly wiping out all UNSC forces until the Spirit of Fire's arrival a few months later, in March of 2559. With the help of the surviving AI on the Ark, Isabel, the Spirit of Fire manages to destroy the Banished capital ship, stranding both armies at the Ark. The Spirit of Fire planned to deploy a Halo ring and use it to return to the galaxy, but the attempt was foiled by the appearance of a Guardian.

The Spirit of Fire successfully contained the Banished on the Ark for a while longer, but the continued efforts of the Banished eventually allowed Atriox to their forces in the Milky Way galaxy for assistance. Escharum, the Banished leader in Halo Infinite, received Atriox's message and planned to return to the galaxy in July of 2559. A portal hidden on Reach allowed Atriox and his forces to return, and in Halo: Shadows of Reach, the Banished forces fighting Master Chief and Blue Team have their own, separate goal. Both parties managed to successfully achieve their objectives, leading to Atriox's return.

Why Halo Changed Villains Between 5 & Infinite

A Long Development May Have Led To Story Changes

Most expectations for the story of Halo Infinite after the ending of Halo 5 would have placed Cortana and the Guardians as the most likely main antagonists going forward, given Halo 5's ending and the relative obscurity of Atriox and the Banished. Whether due to Infinite's lengthy and troubled development cycle or the relative unpopularity of Cortana as an antagonist, Atriox and the Banished served as the main villainous faction for Infinite, with the original Cortana being relegated to a more minor (though still important) role, and Infinite's ending seemingly setting up the Endless as the next main threat.

As with Cortana and Atriox, though, it's not impossible that a sequel to Halo Infinite might shift gears again, as no villainous faction after the Covenant and Flood from the original games has proved to be as popular or iconic for the series. Like with Halo 5 and Infinite, the next Halo could start off with a new threat and fill in the blanks between games with novels or spin-offs. The development of new Halo games, and the franchise's ongoing story, has been contentious since the end of the original trilogy and the development transition from Bungie to 343.

Though Halo Infinite manages to fill players in on many of the most important events that happen after the end of Halo 5: Guardians, there are, as always with the wider Halo universe, many details that can only be found in novels and spin-offs which further explain how the stories of each game connect. While the appearance of Atriox and the Banished in Halo Infinite may have been a surprise to many longtime fans, extra material does connect the game with its predecessor in a way that makes sense.