Halo: Divine Wind Novel Announced

Halo news has been very prevalent over the last few months, with 343 Industries looking to be open and honest with its community about the future of the franchise. While that mostly surrounds the upcoming release of Halo Infinite, it also concerns a new TV show based on the series coming to Paramount Plus and merchandise such as the Bulldog Nerf gun.

The most recent announcement comes courtesy of a Halo Waypoint blog post, with 343 revealing that a novel titled Halo: Divine Wind is currently in the works. Penned by frequent Halo collaborator Troy Denning, there are few details currently available about the book's narrative. However, 343 has teased that fans of the author's previous takes on the franchise may be able to "ferret out a few key details about what’s planned for the upcoming adventure."

A cover for the novel was released alongside the announcement, with the artwork designed by Benjamin Carre. It depicts a crashed spacecraft on a desolate desert planet, with four characters surrounding the wreckage. The first, an armored woman holding a handgun; the second, an armorless elite; the third, a towering brute and the fourth, a mysterious prelate holding a double-edged laser sword. The image has already got fans speculating as to what Divine Wind might be about, pointing out that the characters (bar the cryptic Prelate standing atop the ship) originate from Denning's previous Halo novels. The human is called Veta Lopis, the elite is known as Inslaan 'Gadogai, and the Brute's name is Castor.

This will be the author's sixth venture into the world of Halo, with Denning beginning his relationship with the franchise with Halo: Last Light in 2016 and most recently penning 2020's Halo: Shadows of Reach. He's written for a variety of other licenses over his time as an author, most notably having worked on a range of Star Wars novels over the years. Other details on Divine Wind are scarce, with 343 promising it'll go into more depth on the book in the near future.

The studio has already made 2021 into a big year for the Halo franchise, announcing plenty of details about Halo Infinite. The sequel is shaping up to be a significant next entry for the series, with 343 hoping to transform it into a platform for Halo content that can be enjoyed for the next decade. Although fans are waiting to see more gameplay following the controversial look at the game last year, 343 looks to be biding its time and making a Halo game worthy of the franchise's legacy. Infinite will allegedly be dropping this fall on the Xbox Series X and Xbox One.

Fans of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection can look forward to a new map in Halo 3. The development team 343 Industries has revealed a host of updates coming in a first flight for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

For those unfamiliar with the collection, a first flight is a type of beta that exists to test features. Coming in February, the first flight has a series of changes ranging from fixes to content. Housing many of the games from the series, the collection does include the positively reviewed third Halo game. Now it looks like 343 Industries is sprucing up some of the old content for players.