Halo Infinite Firefight: Gauntlet Update – Patch Notes

Published: May 5, 2026

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.

Screenshot of the Gauntlet hub area’s weapon cache area, which restocks after defeating a battle arena’s champions.

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.

Screenshot of the upgrade terminals (left) and the armory (right) in Gauntlet’s hub area.

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.

Screenshot of a player firing at enemy AI units on the map Munera Platform W4.

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.

Screenshot of the armory’s radial menu, which can be opened using the Custom Input prompt listed onscreen when standing in the designated zone.

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.

Munera Platform H6 map screenshot, which depicts the battle arena set in 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.

Munera Platform W4 map screenshot, which depicts the battle arena set in a UNSC hanger.

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 playlist artwork, which depicts a team of four Spartans running toward a ramp defended by Banished and Forerunner forces.

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. 

More Information About This Update

Updating the Game

Many platforms automatically update games. To manually update or verify your game is up to date, follow the steps included in our How to Update Halo Infinite article.

Shop Bundles and Individual Items

Discounted Shop bundles are only available for purchase if none of the included items are already owned. Purchasing any of the individual items from a full bundle, such as the Crime Crusher bundle, will result in the bundle becoming unavailable for purchase.

Forge File Automatic Deletions

Forge file versions older than 30 days may be automatically deleted. Exceptions include:

• The 10 most recent versions will never be deleted.
• Published versions will never be deleted.
• Locked versions will never be deleted.
  • Up to 30 different versions can be locked per Forge file.

To lock Forge file versions, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the Community tab of the main menu.
2. Select My Files.
3. Select a file to view its Details menu.
4. Scroll down on the lefthand side menu and select Version History.
5. To lock a file version, highlight a version in the Version History menu then select Lock on the righthand menu. 

Additional Resources

To learn more Halo Infinite and its development process, check out the following resources on Halo Support or Halo Waypoint:

• @HaloSupport on Twitter
• Halo Infinite Matchmaking Playlists
• Halo Infinite Player Guide
• Halo Infinite Support Glossary
• Frequently Asked Questions for Halo Infinite
• PC hardware specs and drivers for Halo Infinite
• Halo Spartan Code

Join the Halo Insider program for the chance to see new features before they’re released publicly and, if you’ve encountered a bug in-game, submit a Halo Support ticket so that the development team can investigate the issue. Thank you to all Halo Insiders and ticket submitters for their bug reports and feedback!

Further Resources

• If you experience problems with your Xbox console or Game Pass, Xbox Support can help you.
• If you have problems with your account, Microsoft, or Xbox purchases, Microsoft Support can help you.
• If you have problems with other purchases, please contact the retailer you purchased your game from.
• If you experience a problem in Steam that is not an in-game issue, please contact Steam Support.
• If you want a chance to participate in future Halo flights, sign up for the Halo Insider Program.