From the shadows comes a voice…

“GET TO THE FALCON!”

Operation: Shadows is the first Operation of our 2025 Fall Update but it will not be going quietly into that dark night. With the Falcon in the skies and the Vestige Carbine in hand, Operation: Shadows launches Famished Famished Falcons and Banished Slayer into the spotlight.

Let’s check those out!

Why are Falcons flocking to fly furiously across the sky in pursuit of the furled flag? Why, it’s because they’re famished, of course!

Based loosely off a children’s game featuring starving river horses, Famished Famished Falcons pits four teams of 3 players against each other. Work together as a team, pile into your Falcon, and race to the middle with the ultimate goal: Capture the Flag.

To make things a bit more fun, everyone has a Plasma Pistol (which can EMP vehicles!) and a Grappleshot, allowing you some creative freedom and movement opportunities.

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This is the (very colorful) map you’ll be having your aerial dogfights on. Remember what color platform you start on so you know where to bring the flag!

Just remember…no one said you had to be on your Falcon to capture the flag. You just gotta get the flag to your zone to score a point.

Four teams, four falcons, 12 Spartans, 1 flag. You do the math.

Get locked and loaded… It’s time for Banished Slayer!

This asymmetrical matchmaking mode will have you thinking strategically (who am I kidding, you should always be doing that anyway…) and working together to out-play the enemy (should be routine as well!).

Before you come for me for the “L” word, it’s simply a way to differentiate starting gear for both teams and has some nice alliteration. Banished Slayer is a two team mode that features asymmetrical “loadouts.” What does that mean, exactly? One team will spawn with UNSC gear:

• Bandit Evo

• MA5K Avenger

• Frag Grenades

While the other team has some of the Banished armory at their disposal, as well as the Infected Banished overlay:

• Vestige Carbine

• Pulse Rifle

• Spike Grenades

For those that played it, this may feel somewhat familiar to Invasion Slayer from Halo: Reach. Beyond the starting equipment, everything else is business as usual. Team based slayer, race to 50 kills, everyone has access to content on the map, etc.

If you’re looking to get your hands on the Vestige Carbine and put it through its paces, this is a great mode for that since half the lobby will be spawning with it. If you spawned with a Bandit Evo, well… You know how you can earn one. 😈

You’ll be playing on nine maps that should be familiar such as Forest, Prism, Dredge, and many others, along with a new Community Forge map, Ecotone! You should also be able to find Ecotone in Quick Play Slayer, KOTH, Oddball, and Strongholds if those are your jam.

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Credits: Yeehaw J24, Scrubulba, Igrizhar, Jovaliant

Danger could be lurking around any corner…on any level. Also, say hi to Fret when you find him.

And with that, it’s time to venture out, feel the power of the Vestige Carbine, hear the spin of the Falcon rotors, and put your skills to the test! Read more about the update in our 2025 Fall Playlist blog.

See you on the battlefield!

New directives received. Operation: Shadows has the green light.

Misriah Armory is proud to unveil the new model line of its acclaimed Falcon-series utility transport. Outfitted with a port-side grenade launcher and a heavy machine gun at starboard, this versatile warbird serves just as nobly in direct aerial assaults as it does in medium-range troop deployments. 

Between its cockpit, two assault jump-seats, and dual gunner positions, the spacious Falcon seats up to five UNSC personnel—with legroom to spare! Requisition yours today.

Jump into Famished Famished Falcons to earn your wings with the Falcon. Starting today, the Falcon has also been added to Forge and to certain BTB maps[www.aka.ms].

Do our eyes deceive us? The Vestige Carbine is a recently discovered relic from the early Covenant’s Third Age of Reclamation, forged anew by the Swords of Sanghelios. It fires rapidly, accurately, and with glorious, green projectiles (as dictated by tradition).

Wield the Vestige Carbine against puny humans in Banished Slayer (details below). You can also find it on select Ranked maps, in many Social experiences, or in Forge.

Flipping into that Covenant scope almost makes you miss those long, uncertain nights hunkered down in New Mombasa. Almost.

Four teams, four Falcons, and only one flag between them. Famished Famished Falcons is an aerial CTF minigame where teams must pilot a Falcon past enemy warbirds to steal the flag from its tower at the center of the map.

Gunners can clear the LZ with the chain gun or lob grenades with the launcher, but it’s the pilot’s job to get them close enough to bail out and nab the flag! If that weren’t hard enough, your team also needs to get the flag back to your base to score.

Don’t worry about getting picked off by a pesky opponent! As long as your team’s Falcon remains aloft, you can choose to teleport back to an open jump seat upon respawning.

With two teammates on the guns and three angry Falcons on your tailfeathers, you’ll have to work together to stay airborne. Learn more in our playlist update blog.[www.aka.ms]

Play Famished Famished Falcons in a dedicated playlist now through September 9. At the conclusion of Operation: Shadows, this mode will appear in the Action Sack playlist.

All shall know the might of the Banished! In this asymmetrical Slayer variant, two teams square off with either UNSC or Banished weaponry in a race to total domination.

• Banished Team: Vestige Carbine, Pulse Rifle, Spike Grenades

• UNSC Team: Bandit Evo, MA5K Avenger, Frag Grenades

Banished teams go to war with the new Vestige Carbine, while the UNSC team is kitted out with a Bandit Evo. Since both teams receive a dependable, mid-range rifle and a submachine gun for a sidearm, the real determining factor is the will to survive (not to mention the unique opening tactics afforded by different grenade types).

As the first Operation in Halo Infinite’s Fall Update, Operation: Shadows strikes with a free, 20-tier Operation Pass and a 50-tier Premium Operation Pass boasting four armor sets.

Those with “a certain set of skills” will find them handsomely rewarded in the latest Operation Pass. Complete all 20 tiers to acquire the Whisper armor set and plenty of Spartan Points for your next discreet rendezvous with The Exchange.

Despite being the regulation flight gear of ONI’s top pilots, Whisper armor is a rarely seen phenomenon—at least among the living. Whether you’re on a casual reconnoiter or running a Shiva-tipped package, this stealthy gear will conceal your very shadow.

Upgrade to the Premium Pass to acquire four full armor sets redacted from ONI’s most disavowed dossiers. In addition to the Whisper armor set, Premium Pass operatives will get a lead on the Fire Serpent, Direwolf, and Aristos armor sets.

• Fire Serpent: Modeled on descriptions of a lost civilization’s war god, the Fire Serpent armor exudes wisdom, power, and the timeless art of subterfuge.

• Direwolf: The comprehensive DIREWOLF armor system proves that Emerson Tactical Systems leads the pack when it comes to battlefield innovations.

• Aristos: Reverse-engineered from Promethean technology, the Aristos armor has been recompiled and refactored to serve the needs of new, less noble masters.

Originally recovered at ONI black sites, these armors have finally cleared enough red tape to aid Spartans on sensitive assignments throughout the galaxy.

Upon purchasing the Operation: Shadows Premium Operation Pass, players will instantly unlock an exclusive customization bundle containing all these tactical accoutrements:

• MA5K Hush weapon model

• Nighthawk weapon coating

• Green Mixer visor

• Purrsonal Spartan weapon charm

Operation: Shadows emerges from deep cover with a new weapon, a new vehicle, and plenty of other exciting updates for Spartan eyes only.

Check out our Fall Update preview to read about expanded Weapons Bench customizations, new perspective options in Firefight, a massive rollout of Forge features, upcoming Ranked maps, and more!

The Shop takes you into its confidence with full disclosure on the latest developments in top-secret military hardware.

The Machine War bundle joins UNSC recon gear with the extinction attire of the Executors, along with stealthy weapon models and the exclusive State Collapse death effect.

• FIRBOLG: What’s that lying in the understory, gently dappled with light through the trees? FIRBOLG armor is designed to make that a rhetorical question. Built for deep recon and high-risk sabotage, it has undoubtedly proven useful for any number of undisclosed missions where detection is tantamount to annihilation.

• RECTIFIER: >>Augmented biologics detected. Engage subroutine: RECTIFY. The RECTIFIER combat skin has been meticulously assembled to offer prejudicial countermeasures for viral machine threats, short-lived Spartans, and any other outliers foolish enough to contradict the plan.

Pick up the Machine War bundle to acquire the FIRBOLG and RECTIFIER armor sets, the Blackjacket Sidekick and Veiled Threat sniper weapon models, the Green Death and Black Whisper weapon coatings, and the State Collapse death effect.

The Banished war machine never sleeps—and from its dreams of conquest come merciless models forged by the most devious weaponsmiths.

Seize the Legacy of Rukt bundle to acquire the Even Hand Mutilator and Mutilator of Rukt weapon models, “Vicious” variants of the Heatwave and Needler, and the Burnished Legacy and Brutish Carapace weapon coatings.

A confidential memo has just arrived from the higher-ups: “Operatives may now acquire ONI-themed accessories and field assets from the Fracture: Firewall Event at The Exchange. Firewall’s Merrow armor and the SECOPS armor set (last seen in Operation: Last Stand) may be of particular interest.”

The post-script says, “If you’re caught with any of it, you never existed.”

Halo Infinite is expanding all the time. To navigate its constellated cosmos, we’ve compiled a list of useful resources for new and returning players. Visit the links below to see all currently active playlists, an overview of game modes, patch notes, and more: 

• Join the official Halo Discord server[discord.gg].

• Read the patch notes[aka.ms] for Operation: Shadows.

• Check out all currently active multiplayer playlists[aka.ms].

• Read descriptions for all multiplayer modes[aka.ms] in Halo Infinite.

• Learn about creating custom maps and modes[aka.ms] in Forge.

New to Halo Infinite? Check out our New Player Guide[aka.ms] for helpful tips.

Run into a bug, glitch, or other unexpected issue? Submit a ticket to the Halo Support team.[support.halowaypoint.com]

You can submit tickets on a wide range of topics that includes reports of audio issues, crashes, game-save corruption, general bug reports, and more.

Download the Operation: Shadows press kit here![aka.ms]