A few days ago, 343 Industries dropped a bombshell, and the community had a bit of a razzmatazz. The legendary Hayabusa armor bundle, a huge fan favorite since the days of Halo 3, is finally coming back into Halo Infinite‘s Exchange for Operation Warpath. But here’s the bittersweet: after this sale, the armor will never hit the Exchange again. From September 9 to October 7, you can grab your Hayabusa armor, but after that, it’s locked in digital mythology forever.
What was I saying again? Oh yeah, the Hayabusa armor. For those who may not know, this set of armor appeared in Halo 3 and was arguably the coolest armor to have back in the day. The design was inspired by Ninja Gaiden, which is why it looks like this awesome samurai-ninja hybrid. It’s back in Infinite now, but only for a short time.
The original tweet from the Halo official account got the gamers both excited and a little frustrated? I mean, the replies are all over. Some people are ecstatic about finally being given the opportunity to actually buy this armor, while others are always complaining about “FOMO” tactics and about how out-of-the-walls cool gaming was back in their day.
One user, named Knee Colas, tweeted: “Back in my day we earned this armor by finding the hidden skulls and getting all the achievements.” And honestly? Same. Remember grinding through those campaigns to find all the skulls just to unlock this armor? Good times. Now you just… buy it with Spartan points I guess? Which you earn by playing but still, it’s different.
Then all the licensing issues really start kicking in. Elyrium42 goes on forever in the comments explaining that it’s a licensing issue with Team Ninja, who owns the Hayabusa design, and that 343 can’t make it permanently available because of copyright issues. Makes sense, after all, this isn’t originally a Halo design. It’s a crossover item.
And speaking of crossovers, there’s a theory about it being back now in anticipation of the potential release of Ninja Gaiden 4. That would certainly be very good timing. But who knows?
The community reaction has been… unlikeable. Some players are super pumped to finally get this armor in Infinite. Others… I say, grumble about vaulted content discouraging new players. XFerginatorX said: “Wish it was there forever. Hate seeing vaulted content. Had someone on MCC ask how I got the legendary nameplate then found out it got vaulted so they couldn’t earn it was disappointing to them.”
Then, there’s that whole “make a good Halo game” crowd that finds its way into every 343 post. oddsfishes replied outright: “How about the return of a good Halo game?” That hurts. Maybe harsh, but fair? Infinite has improved a lot since launch, but it’s still not where many fans want it.
The licensing explanation makes sense, though-if Team Ninja only gave them permission to offer this armor for a limited time, then 343 literally can’t keep it available. It’s not like they’re trying to create artificial scarcity for no reason (well, maybe a little bit). But legal stuff is legal stuff.
What’s cool is that you can actually earn this with Spartan points, the free currency you get from playing. So it’s not like you have to fork out real money unless you really want to. Thank goodness for that. Remember when everything was locked behind paywalls? At least this way dedicated players can grind for it.
Speaking of cool, the armor is just sick-looking-the classic samurai design with the dragons etched on there. One of those armor sets that is like screaming, “I’ve been playing Halo forever,” even if technically you could be a just started Halo player who has played enough matches to afford it during this limited window.
Operation Warpath is the current event in Infinite, so naturally, putting the Hayabusa armor into the Exchange is a huge deal. This will bring many back into the game, which 343 would dearly want now. Player numbers have been… inconsistent to say the least.
Some of the replies are heated about the FOMO thing. User muskrai_zenshou rages: “fomo in a digital landscape is the most retarded and backwards concept i have fucking seen.” Well, yeah, FOMO tactics in games can be pretty annoying. But when it’s because of actual licensing issues, what can you do?
It’s interesting to see how different the gaming landscape is now compared to the days of Halo 3. Back in those days, you unlock stuff by playing the game and completing challenges. Now everything is tied to seasons and battle passes and limited-time events. Is it better? Worse? Well, I don’t know, it’s just different.
One final appearance for the Hayabusa armor is sure to bring in the crowds for Operation Warpath. Whether you do or do not love the FOMO side of it, people will be logging in to retrieve this piece of Halo history before it’s gone forever. And who knows, maybe this also means that we’ll see more classic armor sets come back.
At the end of the day, it is really cool they are bringing this armor back, even if only temporarily. For the brand new players who never got to experience the glory days of Hayabusa armor, this is everybody’s chance to rock one of the most distinct looks in Halo history. And for the veterans, it’s a nice trip down memory lane back to Halo 3 days when life was so much simpler and we were all just trying to find those damn skulls together.
So, if you want the Hayabusa armor, better start grinding those Spartan points before October 7th. After that, it’s gone for good according to 343. Unless, that is, they work out some permanent licensing deal with Team Ninja, which doesn’t look likely at all. Catch the legend before it goes into that realm of myth, as they say.
