Still, if the “ Discover Hope” cinematic is any indication, the Pilot has emotional stakes of his own to overcome. This time around, Chief is joined by the “Echo-216 Pilot.” His real name will likely be uncovered over the course of the game.

Will it be an ensemble game? I think certainly we feel great internal success with the cooperative play in Halo 5, so I think it’s something we’re heavily invested in and we won’t simply abandon.”

“Without giving away too much, at the end of Halo 5, as you well know, the universe has changed so fundamentally that we have no choice but to tell what I would call a much more human story in the next game. Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor, in a candid interview with Time, stated that Infinite, as opposed to the previous numbered entry, will focus more on our favorite green-armored soldier and his bombastic escapades: The survival of humanity is on the line, and Chief must find a way to thwart his enemies’ plans (likely by destroying the halo ring), escape the ring itself, and find a way to save Cortana from her own “rampancy.” Chief will go head-to-head with a new threat, the Banished, as he explores another Halo Array.

In the final chapter of the Reclaimer Saga, John-117 is back, discovered adrift (and dormant) in the cold vastness of space.