The whole community is buzzing over another cryptic tweet that the official account of Halo dropped. An ominous image was posted by the official Halo Twitter account, and the caption read, “Shrouded in shadows, forged for war. #OperationShadows.” Users are immersing themselves, holding tightly onto every pixel for a maybe clue. The silhouette, which appears to be that of a new weapon–maybe a Covent Carbine–has received extreme hype and extreme skepticism.
Let us talk about that weapon first. The outline here gives me a very strong Covenant vibe; lots of gamers feel strongly that returning Carbine is the beloved weapon from the older Halo games. Some are calling it a sort of homage to both the Carbine and the Plasma Rifle from Halo 5. But not everyone is down for that idea; some actually think that it may even be just a reskin for the Bandit rifle, which would be really disappointing. One player basically cried, “If it’s just a skin, we riot.”
Then comes that flavor debate. Yes, I said flavor. One user then commented, “Interesting weapon, what flavor is it?” Then replies turned into a complete taste test. Green apple? Lemon? The gamers are all geared up to take one bite at this thing, perhaps in a metaphorical sense… and maybe not? Another chimed in, “Can’t wait to take a FAT bite outta this when it gets added.” Weird flex, but okay.
The players that aren’t sharing such excitements are more serious criticisms of Halo Infinite itself; cheaters making matches less enjoyable are not a joy to anyone’s ears; moreover, lack of campaign integration for DLC weapons. Another reply said, “You think some new weapon is going to get rid of them?” Ouch. Some other folks are just tired stuff: “Stop being cryptic, Halo morale really needs a win right now lol.”
And then there are the wildcards. One “wort wort wort” meme popped in (a classic), another one said it was store update #274836, and someone demanded a first-person view model. The chaos is real.
So, what all are Operation Shadows about? Yet, no word on it officially, but the title suggests something big, perhaps even a new season. 343 Industries has the player base on their toes right now amid all the speculations. Whether this is something to shake up the meta or simply a faintly cool cosmetic drop, the Halo fans are all in it.
For now, it is all memes and waits and riots announced for when the Carbine if indeed it turns out to be a skin. Stay tuned.
