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If you have finished Halo Infinite’s campaign and want to keep playing, choose based on what you want next: Firefight for cooperative battles against Banished forces, social Arena for casual 4v4 matches, Big Team Battle for larger 12v12 battles, or Ranked for tracked competition. For another campaign-like fight alongside friends, start with Firefight; it offers several different co-op formats.
Choose a mode by the kind of match you want
| If you want… | Try… | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Co-op combat against AI | Firefight Classic | Four players take on increasingly difficult, endless Banished waves. |
| Co-op combat with an objective | Firefight: King of the Hill | Capture and defend a hill while enemy AI attacks; teammates can revive downed players. |
| A more directed co-op session | Firefight: Battle of the Academy | Four players defend against and then escape Banished forces in a linear experience. |
| Casual matches against other players | Social Arena playlists, such as Quick Play or Arena Social | 4v4 matches that do not affect your rank. |
| Larger maps and teams | Big Team Battle | 12v12 matches on larger maps. |
| Competitive matches with tracked results | A Ranked playlist | Results are tracked and affect your rank; available variants rotate. |
| Practice before matchmaking | Academy Training Mode | Practice against bots and adjust scenarios and difficulty. |
Play Firefight for co-op Banished battles
Firefight is cooperative player-versus-environment (PvE): your team fights enemy AI rather than human opponents. The official Halo Infinite Multiplayer Game Mode Rules guide describes the mode as players battling waves of enemy AI units.
Firefight Classic: survive the waves
Classic is the most direct choice if you want to keep fighting without a single capture objective. Four players face endless Banished waves that increase in difficulty. A set consists of three rounds followed by a bonus round; completing the bonus objective earns the team an extra life.
Firefight: King of the Hill: fight over ground
Choose King of the Hill if you want the AI battle to revolve around capturing and defending a hill. Enemies continue attacking while your team works on the objective, and players can revive downed teammates.
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- Campaign: When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.
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- Cross-generation and cross-platform gaming: Halo Infinite provides an amazing experience across the Xbox One and newer family of consoles with stunning graphics and world-class cross-platform play. On Xbox Series X, enjoy enhanced features like up to 120 FPS and greatly reduced load times creating seamless gameplay that ushers in the next generation of gaming.*
Firefight: Battle of the Academy: defend, then escape
This format provides a more linear co-op session: four players defend against Banished forces and then escape. The official guide names Cole Protocol and Out With A Bang as examples.
Check where a Firefight option is listed
Playlist availability can change. Halo Support’s multiplayer playlists page distinguishes staple playlists from rotational ones, and notes that modes and maps may be added during weekly refreshes. Its May 5, 2026 Firefight: Gauntlet patch notes said the featured Gauntlet playlist was scheduled to leave matchmaking on May 19, 2026, with its maps and mode then joining the Firefight staple playlist. That schedule does not establish the current in-game listing; check the live playlist menu before looking for a specific option.
Choose Arena, Big Team Battle, or Ranked for PvP
Social Arena: smaller, casual matches
Arena matches are 4v4. Social playlists such as Quick Play and Arena Social are a good fit when you want human opponents without rank consequences: social matches do not affect rank. Playlist contents can vary, and some modes appear only during limited-time windows.
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Big Team Battle (BTB) uses 12v12 matches on larger maps. Choose it when you want more teammates and opponents in the match than Arena’s 4v4 format.
Ranked: tracked competition
Ranked is the choice when you want match results to be tracked and to affect your rank. Ranked variants rotate, so check the current in-game listing rather than assuming a particular format is always available. Halo Support’s playlist page provides the published schedule.
Practice or set up a specific game with friends
Use Academy Training Mode to warm up
Academy Training Mode lets you practice against bots and adjust scenarios and difficulty. It is useful if you want to get comfortable with multiplayer combat before joining a live match.
Rank #3
- Software Main Type: Game
- Software Sub Type: First Person Shooter
- Software Name: Halo Infinite Standard Edition
- ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
- Single Player Supported: Yes
Use Custom Games when you need a specific selection
For a particular game with friends, inspect the Game list within a playlist or set up a Custom Game. Match Composer, where supported, lets you select modes within a playlist; selecting fewer options may lengthen matchmaking. Custom Games do not complete challenges or contribute to Battle Pass progress, according to Halo Support’s game modes guide.
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- Want to keep fighting Banished with friends? Look for Firefight and choose Classic for escalating waves, King of the Hill for an objective, or Battle of the Academy for a linear defense-and-escape experience.
- Want to fight human opponents casually? Try a social Arena playlist.
- Want a bigger match? Choose Big Team Battle.
- Want rank-affecting competition? Choose a currently listed Ranked playlist.
- Want to practice or control the setup? Start in Academy Training Mode or create a Custom Game.
The official playlist listing is the best check for what is available now: staple playlists are identified as non-rotating, but playlist contents and limited-time modes can change. There is no published preference statistic establishing one mode as the universal favorite among campaign finishers, so the best next step depends on whether you want co-op PvE, casual PvP, larger battles, or ranked play.
Quick Recap
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