For quite a while now, the buzz in the Halo community has been kinda electric—if that makes sense—as folks have been eagerly waiting for some real scoop on the next big Halo release. You know, with Halo Infinite’s four-year anniversary sneakin’ up on us, folks are getting real antsy. Is it gonna be Halo 7? Or maybe a reboot of Halo: Combat Evolved? Dunno. But Phil Spencer, the big kahuna over at Microsoft Gaming, dropped a hint. Apparently, we’re lookin’ at 2026 for the next game with something… “classic” making a comeback at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2025. Man, it’s hard to wait! Oh, and there’s a book, Halo: Edge of Dawn: A Master Chief Story, in the works that might give us some clues about Halo 7 when it hits the shelves in December. Go figure.
So, let me unpack this a bit—Halo: Edge of Dawn. This was teased at the 2024 Halo World Championship and officially dropped in Jan 2025. It’s the 38th book (I know, right?) penned by Kelly Gay, following right after Halo Infinite’s ending. The book’s all about Master Chief, The Weapon, and this guy Fernando Esparza, still ya know, stuck in the year 2560, fighting the Banished. There’s a side quest too—finding Lucas Browning, a missing medic. If you dug through all of Infinite’s audio logs, you’d know Browning got himself in a pickle, releasing the Harbinger after being captured. Talk about bad luck.
Oh, and the book’s antagonist? Remember Jega ‘Rdomnai, the Banished Sangheili cyborg blademaster from Halo Infinite? He’s back, alive, and itching for revenge. Who knew he survived his tango with Master Chief? With Escharum and most of the Bloodstars out of the picture, ‘Rdomnai might just try to helm the Banished gang on Zeta Halo, hell-bent on takin’ down our beloved Master Chief.
Edge of Dawn could spill some beans on Halo 7’s storyline—or maybe tease us to bits, who can tell? The book’s a straight follow-up from Infinite, and if it’s anything like Halo: First Strike (the book after Halo: Combat Evolved) it might just be hiding some juicy details. Like, we could see characters like Kovan or Spartan-4 Tomas in Halo 7. Plus, the bit with Browning? He might be the key to some big mystery on Zeta Halo, leading Chief to bump heads with Atriox and the Endless, setting the stage for the next game. It even teases that we might finally learn The Weapon’s real name. Imagine that?!
Anyway, here’s hopping from one tangent to another like playing hopscotch with spoilers and teasers. Feels like reading Edge of Dawn before the big title drop in 2026 might just be like peeking through the keyhole of Halo 7’s plot. I mean, if First Strike paved some roads to Halo 2, who’s sayin’ Edge of Dawn won’t lay tracks for the next big gig?
Similar tricks happened with Halo Infinite, remember? Its groundwork was already being laid down by the novel Halo: Shadows of Reach back in 2020. These little literary hints, paving the way for what’s next? I dunno. Sounds like a breadcrumb trail only the hardcore Halo fans can solve. Keeps things interesting, that’s for sure!
