You can’t have a Microsoft E3 press conference without some Halo news, and 343 Industries certainly delivered in that regard. Rather than just a brief teaser trailer, we got to see Halo 5: Guardian’s new multiplayer mode, known as Warzone, which looks unlike anything we’ve ever seen in a game before. While details are still scarce, the massive 24-person game mode seems to combine competitive multiplayer with elements of singleplayer gameplay, such as the addition of what appears to be hostile NPCs. 

Earlier today, 343 Industries revealed the new Halo 5: Guardian’s multiplayer mode, Warzone. This aims to take all the depth of a traditional Halo multiplayer match and layer in elements from the series’ single-player experience. Weeks ago, during our recent Halo 5: Guardian’s cover trip, 343 Industries invited us to be the first people outside the studio to play an early version of Warzone. We left impressed. Warzone is so big it’s bound to make waves when it splashes into online space later this year. Warzone acts like a giant training simulation where players are divided into two teams of 12 players and tasked with defending their base. From the onset I can tell that this mode is a little different because I’m not just defending my base from other players, but from A.I. enemies as well. Warzone’s numbers are impressive for a big team battle: 24 players face off against upwards of 50 different A.I.-controlled units on maps that are four times bigger than what most Halo fans have ever experienced. It’s not surprising that this is a mode 343 Industries has been dreaming about for years.