Halo Infinite has multiple endingswhich explain further information not directly stated in-game, giving further context to the expanded universe. Like the manyHalo games before it,Halo Infiniteprovides an alternate ending for players who manage to beat the story on Legendary difficulty. However, one of the unique traits of the multiple endings inHalo Infinite is that both the standard and the Legendary endings have overlapping footage, thoughHalo Infinite'sLegendary ending has more dialogue that further explains where the story may lead to next.
[Warning: The following containsMAJOR SPOILERS for Halo Infinite .]
Before diving into the Halo Infinite endings, it's important to highlight all of the key plot points that take place during the final boss fight against the Harbinger, Halo Infinite's most powerful antagonist. As Master Chief continues to fight off Banished forces and the Harbinger, The Weapon works on shutting down the connection that the Harbinger is trying to establish with another location on Zeta Halo. Additionally, The Weapon is receiving help from an outside source, although she is unable to identify who, or what, is helping her stop the Harbinger. Ultimately, Master Chief defeats the Harbinger, but The Weapon is unable to decrypt the Harbinger's final transmission in time before the connection is lost.
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The ending ofHalo Infinitebegins with the Harbinger dying as she speaks to Master Chief one last time before taking her final breath. The Harbinger is also speaking with another being that is somewhere else on Zeta Halo, and as she dies the connection is lost. However, The Weapon notes that: "The signal's...old? Like really old."Halo Infinite's Silent Auditorium begins to crumble, and with little to no hope of escaping a portal suddenly appears in front of Master Chief providing an exit for himself and The Weapon.
Halo Infinite's Post-Credits Scene, Explained
Upon exiting the portal, Master Chief and The Weapon find themselves beneath ancient stone-like rings when Echo 216 contacts them. Echo 216 mentions that he lost their signal, and asks where the pair had gone. Although it feels like the pilot dropped off Master Chief and The Weapon hours ago, The Weapon reveals that they've somehow been missing for three days. Echo 216 reaches Master Chief and The Weapon, and their story continues as they fight off the remaining Banished forces from the remainingregions of Halo Infinite's open-world map.
In a reveal that perhaps caughtmany fans off guard, theHalo Infinite post-credit scene reveals that Atriox is alive. Allegedly, Atriox was killed by Cortana when she sacrificed herself to destroy the chunk of Zeta Halo that is missing on the ring. This particular event takes place during the six-month period that passes between the opening scene of Halo Infiniteand where Echo 216 finds Master Chief adrift in space.
Atriox is presumed dead by everyone throughout the story, which explains his absence and why Escharum repeatedly discusses honoring the will of Atriox. Whether or not Escharum knew Atriox was alive is unclear, butEscharum is Halo Infinite's final boss fight against a member of the Banished leadership as part of the main story, and he dies with whatever information he might have had about Atriox's status.
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Not only is Atriox alive in the standard post-credit scene of Halo Infinite, but he's seen severely scarred by whatever Cortana did to damage him. The left side of Atriox's face is malformed, with his fangs partially showing, his left-eye bloodshot, his left cheek appears to be severely dehydrated or his bones shattered, and his war paint is completely wiped from his face.
Additionally, Atriox uses a Forerunner Key to activate the cases that are keeping the Endless trapped within. The Harbinger, a member of the Endless, was attempting to free her kind, and it's highly likely that her final transmission was being sent to Atriox to let him know that everything is ready. Halo Infinite's campaign ends here, and players resumecontrol of Master Chief on Zeta Halo.
Halo Infinite'sLegendary Ending, Explained
The Legendary ending ofHalo Infiniteprovides a bit more insight into what may come next for the series but at the very least it applies more context to the final fight and standard post-credits scene. The Legendary post-credits scene begins with a dialogue exchange betweenDespondent Pyre, known as the monitor of Zeta Halo, and a new Forerunner character called the Grand Edict. Although the scene plays out identically to the standard post-credit scene with Atriox,the dialogue between these two characters takes place on Zeta Halo in 97,368 BCE. This date is significant because it's 77 years after the Great Purification, the event where all Halo rings were fired to stop the Flood.
No enemies or Forerunner characters are in Halo Infinite's campaignuntil this moment, aside from the Sentinel constructs and the monitors. Additionally, Banishedaudio logs found inHalo Infinitereveal thatDespondent Pyrediscovered an uncatalogued species known as the Xalanyn shortly after Halo was fired, and this species survived the Great Purification. A parlay was arranged between the Xalanyn and the surviving Forerunners, but this was a trap to imprison the Xalanyn. Since the Xalanyn survived Halo, the Grand Edict felt they were a threat to the Forerunner's power and plan to reintroduce life to the universe.
The Endless is an unofficial name that was given to the Xalanyn species because of their ability to survive the Halo rings, a weapon that was thought to have wiped out all sentient life in the universe. The dialogue that continues between the Grand Edict and Despondent Pyre in the Halo Infinite Legendary post-credit campaign ending, and the with the use of the Silent Auditorium, Despondent Pyre was tasked with containing and researching what theEndless are and what their secret was to surviving Halo and the Great Purification.
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In the final exchange between the two, Despondent Pyre fears that she cannot uphold the task on her own. The Grand Edict informs her that she will not be alone and that Offensive Bias has been deployed. Offensive Bias has not been confirmed to be inHalo Infinite, however, it's likely that The Weapon was receiving outside help to defeat the Harbinger from Offensive Bias. Additionally, although it isn't confirmed, Offensive Bias was most likely the reason why a spontaneous portal opened up to let Master Chief and The Weapon escape the Silent Auditorium.
Although it isn't explained in theHalo Infinite campaign to Master Chief or The Weapon,Offensive Bias was the AI unit that bought the Forerunners enough time to fire the Halo rings. Offensive Bias was last mentioned inHalo: Silentium: The Forerunner Saga Book Three.This book was originally published in 2013, and Offensive Bias had allegedly not been redeployed between the events of the Great Purification and 97,368 BCE. Although its current active status is unknown, the context ofHalo Infinite's Legendary ending dialogue suggests it's likely that Offensive Bias, the Endless, and Atriox will all play significant roles in any potential upcomingHalo Infinitestory DLC.
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