Halo Infinite: Who Are the Banished?

Halo Infinite is the biggest game coming to Xbox Series X, and it finally marks the return of Master Chief for the first time since 2015. Microsoft opened its Xbox Games Showcase with a brand new look at Infinite, which revealed the major villains of the game are going to be the Banished.

The Banished may not be immediately familiar to everyone, as they weren’t even introduced in the mainline series. The Banished could play a big role in the Halo series moving forward, especially considering the disarray the Covenant is in at the end of Halo 5: Guardians.

Before Halo Infinite launches fans will want to brush up with the history of the Banished, and what their role in the series really is. There’s still a lot that’s unknown about Halo Infinite’s story, but knowing the goals of the Banished might shed a bit of light.

Halo Wars 2 Introduced the Banished

The Banished were first introduced in the story of Halo Wars 2, which actually takes place after the events of Halo 5: Guardians. The UNSC ship Spirit of Fire was put into cryosleep in 2031, and in 2059 they wake up near the Ark and encounter the Banished. The Banished are a mercenary group that rebelled against the covenant after its leaders grew tired of their people being used as cannon fodder. The group was founded by two brutes named Atriox and Decimus, but incorporated other races of the Covenant as well.

The Banished had overrun the human forces on the Ark and slaughtered everyone, except an AI named Isabelle. As the Spirit of Fire clashed with the Banished, it becomes clear that Atriox’s ultimate goal is to simply have the power to keep the Banished from being subjugated. Atriox and the Banished don’t have the same internalized hate of humanity that the Covenant does, at least not at first, but humanity stands as an obstacle to the Banished doing whatever they want.

Halo Wars 2 doesn’t fully reveal Atriox’s plans, but near the end of the game the Banished launch an offensive to take over Installation 00 and use it to create new Halo rings, thus owning the most powerful weapon in the universe. The Spirit of Fire fought the Banished to a standstill for months after the end of Halo Wars 2, which even resulted in the Flood being released from Installation 08 during the Awakening the Nightmare DLC. The Flood ended up being another hitch in Atriox’s plan, but the Banished did manage to reactivate the Sentinel network on Installation 08, helping to put the Flood down. Halo Wars 2 ends with all of the Banished’s plans foiled, but Atriox and his army still thriving just fine.

The Banished’s Goal in Halo Infinite

Now that it’s clear Halo Infinite is bringing the Banished back, the big question is what Atriox’s goal is this time around. It’s hard to say what the ultimate goal of the Banished is, but those ambitions are likely to take center stage in Halo Infinite. Because of Atriox’s multiple defeats on the Ark, the Banished most likely see humanity as the number one threat to their bid for power. Interestingly, it doesn’t look like Atriox will himself be the villain, as it’s instead a Banished War Chief named Escharum. Halo Infinite takes place on Installation 07 also known as the Zeta Halo ring, and it seems that Escharum is the leader of the Banished forces there. This means that Atriox, more than likely, is still present on the Ark. During the most recent Halo Infinite gameplay demo, Escharum also mentions something called “The Harbinger,” which hasn’t been mentioned in the series until now. Fans will likely need to wait until Halo Infinite launches to find out what the Banished are really up to these days.

Halo Infinite launches Holiday 2020 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

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