Microsoft has allegedly cancelled the long-rumoured Halo Infinite battle royale spin-off, also known as Project Tanaka.
Project Tanaka has been reported as a spin-off Battle Royale game for Xbox and PC developed by Certain Affinity. Allegedly being made in Unreal Engine 5, instead of Halo Infinite’s Slipspace Engine, the battle royale game would’ve seemingly reused assets while having to recreate gameplay functions from scratch.
According to Xbox Era host Nick Baker, Project Tanaka has been scrapped at Certain Affinity. Instead, the studio will continue working as a support studio on new maps for the main Halo Infinite multiplayer mode, just as it has done for the series since Halo 4.
Baker claims that the battle royale game was massively expanded during development. While it started as a free to play battle royale game, the title eventually “evolved into something more”.
Back when Halo Infinite released, the lack of a battle royale mode was seen as a major downside for the title. However, while games like Fortnite and Warzone are still popular, new battle royale games are struggling to find players. In fact, even established games like Apex Legends are struggling.
Xbox’s flagship sequel struggled when it first launched, making a battle royale spin-off an intriguing addition for fans. Following the release of Halo Infinite Season 5, the game is in a much better place with tonnes of maps, plenty of armour customisation, the series’ best Forge mode and more.
Nevertheless, Halo Infinite still has a lot of space to grow as developer 343 Industries continues to support its live service game. While a full Halo sequel is reportedly in the works at the time of writing, it will be years before Xbox fans see a follow-up to the console’s biggest franchise.
Halo Infinite multiplayer is available as a free-to-play download right now on Xbox and PC. The game’s single-player/co-op campaign is available as a separate purchase, or via Xbox Game Pass.