While Halo Infinite may not have been the grand revival that Microsoft were hoping for the franchise, series co-developer Certain Affinity looked to be prepping to offer their own take on the franchise with a battle royale game. Ultimately this project never came to be, with reports claiming back in 2024 that the BR title had been cancelled. It appears rumours of the game’s death were somewhat exaggerated however, with insiders now claiming that the team pivoted and reworked the Battle Royale title into an extraction shooter.

As reported by known Halo insider Rebs Gaming, new details surrounding the previously in-development Battle Royale (known as project Tatanka) have been shared, with the insider claiming that:

“Tatanka was not a game mode for Infinite that would have been added to the multiplayer playlist menu, but rather a new separate PVP game co-developed by 343 Industries and Certain Affinity in the SlipSpace Engine.”

According to Rebs, “battle royale games were falling out of favor” and so 343i/Certain Affinity “wanted to avoid chasing an oversaturated genre”. As a result, Project Tatanka was ultimately cancelled, being spun off into a new project: Ekur.

Though the current status of Ekur is unknown, the project is (or was) “a PVE extraction shooter” which was in development at least up until “the end of Summer 2023”.

Some sources claim that Ekur is slated to be the next multiplayer Halo entry, while others heard that it will instead be included as a new mode in the next Halo game.

Either way, according to Rebs, project Tatanka (now project Ekur) is still happening in one form or another.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this shift to an extraction shooter? Does Halo need to chase trends? Would you prefer a Halo Battle Royale or Extraction Shooter? Let us know down below.

We may be halfway into March 2026, but we're still in that time of the year when data firms and analysts are publishing their recaps of the previous year in the video game industry and reports for what's ahead. Global analytics firm Newzoo is the latest one to arrive and has published its PC and Console Gaming 2026 Report, which shows a few things we've seen before in other reports, as well as some new insights around some of the most popular genres in video games, like battle royales. Firstly, some similarities. Newzoo's report, like Epyllion's, points out that PC […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/battle-royale-video-games-took-dive-in-engagement-despite-same-legacy-franchises-dominating/

Black Ops 7: Season 2 Reloaded is set to be massive for Call of Duty, with the mid-Season update reintroducing the fan-favourite Blackout mode from BO4 – an alternate take on the Battle Royale formula. Ahead of the update’s arrival next week, Activision have shared everything you need to know about Season 2 Reloaded and its Black Ops Royale mode.

Taking to their blog, the team at Activision offered a deep-dive into the new Black Ops Royale mode. Inspired by Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode, this alternate take on the BR formula is set to launch on the 12th of March and offers a ton of changes compared to Warzone – including but not limited to:

• No loadouts
• No gulag
• No buy stations
• Wingsuits instead of parachutes
• 5 attachment upgrade paths
• New backpack menu
• Lootable perks with no fixed slots
• Returning equipment including grapple hook and sensor dart
• Full omni-movement support
• Cradle Breaches featuring zombies

All of this will of course be taking place on the Avalon map which has so far been used for BO7’s Endgame mode (albeit with some visual changes).

Full details on the new Black Ops Royale mode can be found HERE, but in essence it seems to be sticking surprisingly close to the original Blackout experience.

Over the years, sentiment surrounding Blackout has grown, with many claiming that its biggest issue was being tied to the premium Black Ops 4 – meaning finding matches over time became increasingly tough. With this new Black Ops Royale however being tied to Warzone, it will be interesting to see how the mode is received, especially compared to the somewhat stale Warzone. We won’t have to wait long to find out.

KitGuru says: Are you excited for Season 2 Reloaded? Did you enjoy the OG Blackout back in the day? How does it compare to Warzone? Let us know your thoughts down below.