Halo Flashpoint Eras: Where the Game Could Go Next

Anthony Salazar

Here’s a trivia question for you, commanders. What year is it in Halo Flashpoint?

Trick question, because the answer is “all of them.” On one side of your 2 foot square table you’ve got Master Chief and the Banished from Halo Infinite, set in 2560. Across from them you might find Noble Team, who fell on Reach in 2552, or ODSTs dropping into New Mombasa that same year. Now the Covenant is joining the party, and the war era is officially on the table. Flashpoint is already a time machine, and today we’re talking about where it could travel next.

Flashpoint Is Already Bending the Timeline

Even the lore crowd noticed this one when Noble Team was announced. Reach’s Spartans were fighting and dying before Combat Evolved, and now they’re lining up against the Banished, who showed up in force decades later. Mantic didn’t seem to mind, and honestly, neither did most of us. A skirmish game is a “what if” sandbox by nature. Nobody’s checking a calendar when a Spartan Killer drops into a cube and starts swinging.

That’s exactly why the question of eras is so fun. Mantic’s CEO Ronnie Renton said in an AMA that the company still had more to do to round out the UNSC and Banished armies (the Marines and Grunts have since arrived), so the team clearly has a longer roadmap in mind. The mats already hint at the range too, with Reach, New Mombasa, and Zeta Halo each getting their own battlefield. Each one feels like a different chapter of Halo, so it’s worth asking which chapters could come next.

Why This Matters Beyond Fun Lore

Every Halo fan has a favorite era, and each one could bring its own look, its own factions, and its own way to play. A new era isn’t just a pile of new models. It’s a new reason for a fan of the original trilogy, or of Halo 4, to pick up the game. We saw how well that worked with the ODST wave pulling in a gigantic number of new players, and we’re betting “Judgment” does the same for Covenant fans.

It also keeps the meta fresh. A lot of players have been asking for a third faction, and era variety is one of the best ways to get one without repeating yourself. Painters win too, since a new era means new color schemes, new armor designs, and new excuses to buy paint.

So let’s walk through the timeline.

The Early War (2525 to the 2540s)

When the Covenant arrived at Harvest in 2525, the war kicked off and the early years were brutal. The UNSC was outgunned, and this is the era of desperation, heroic last stands, and some of Halo’s best stories. It’s also where the Spartan programs expanded, including the Spartan IIIs, such as Alpha Company during Operation PROMETHEUS in 2537.

This is where Halo Wars fits too. The crew of the Spirit of Fire, with Captain Cutter, Sergeant Forge, and Red Team’s Spartans (Jerome, Douglas, and Alice), would make a fantastic fireteam, and Halo Wars is exactly the kind of “cult classic” the community already loves. It’s also one of two natural spots for the Flood, who show up in that game’s outbreak.

The Master Chief’s Battles (2552)

This is the big one, the era most fans think of first. Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and Reach all land here, and we already have Master Chief, Noble Team, ODSTs, and now the Covenant in the game. But there’s still a lot of unexplored ground.

The Great Schism is the most obvious idea. When the Covenant fractured in 2552, the Arbiter and his Sangheili turned against the Prophets and the Jiralhanae, and they ended up fighting alongside humanity in Halo 3. A “Swords of Sanghelios” faction, with the Arbiter leading Elites against Brutes and Covenant loyalists, would create new sculpt opportunities for painters. It could also make a great scenario pack for Big Team Battle, with Sangheili and humans fighting side by side.

Add Tartarus and the Jiralhanae Chieftains (we mentioned wanting him in our Judgment coverage), plus the Prophet of Truth, and you’ve got an entire Halo 2 and Halo 3 campaign’s worth of content waiting to hit the table.

And we can’t talk about 2552 without mentioning the second best opportunity for a Flood expansion. First on Installation 04 in Combat Evolved, where Halo’s biggest twist reveals what the rings were really built to stop. Then in Halo 2, the Flood tear through High Charity and Gravemind takes center stage, and by Halo 3 they’ve overrun huge parts of the Ark (and yes, “Cortana” is still haunting our dreams). It’s the perfect setting for a faction that swarms, reanimates, and turns every fallen Marine into a threat, and since the Covenant is already joining the game, a three way fight between humans, Covenant, and Flood isn’t a stretch. We made our case for them in an earlier Dispatch piece, and this era gives them the best home of any.

The Aftermath and the Prometheans (2553 to 2558)

After the war, things didn’t calm down. The Sangheili fought a five year civil war on Sanghelios, known as the Blooding Years, and in 2557 humanity ran into the Didact and his Prometheans, followed by Cortana’s rise in 2558. This is the Halo 4 and Halo 5 era, with Spartan IVs, the UNSC Infinity, Blue Team, and Fireteam Osiris.

*Prometheans, Halo 5: Guardians, Warzone Firefight, Source: Halopedia*

The Prometheans would be a wild faction to see on a tabletop. Knights, Crawlers, and Watchers have a completely different look from the Covenant and Banished, with sleek Forerunner designs, teleporting, and drones that support their allies. If Mantic wanted a third faction that felt truly alien (and different from the Flood and Covenant), this might be the one. They could even have a big point boss in the Warden Eternal from Halo 5 (I know, I also think that boss fight sucked too).

The Warden Eternal, Halo 5: Guardians, Source: 343 Industries (Halo Studios)

The Created and the Banished (2559 to 2560)

This era is the one we’re already playing. Halo Wars 2 and Halo Infinite cover the Banished and Atriox, the Created (handled seperately in the novels), and the fight over Zeta Halo, and there’s still room to grow. This is the most fleshed out period of Halo history covered in the game, and one that all players are familiar with even if they havent played the most recent titles.

The Roadblocks

None of this is guaranteed, and it’s worth being realistic. Every new faction needs new sculpts, and Mantic is working within license approvals from Microsoft and Halo Studios (and now Activision?), which has clearly shaped the pace of releases. Mantic also has to keep the game fast and balanced, and every new faction adds complexity to the rules and keywords. They’ve handled it well so far with the 1.5 update and the keyword refinements, but there’s a limit to how fast any company can grow without losing the tight skirmish feel that makes Flashpoint work, or in Mantics case, running out of material and lore to pull from.

If I Had to Pick 3

If I could pick the next three additions to see, here’s my list.

The Flood I would be great to see everyone favorite space horror freakshows getting their chance to be painted up and terrorize tabletops globally. They would deffinetly present new gameplay opportunities.
The Prometheans It’s the biggest visual change and would give Halo 4 and Halo 5 fans a reason to jump in, and could offer a ton of new gameplay options (even if I didn’t care for them in the games myself).
The Spirit of Fire crew Halo Wars fans have waited a long time for this one, and the cast would slot right into the UNSC, getting characters like Sgt. Forge, or Red Team would be great. Since the new Covenant faction is introducing the Shan Shy’uum to the game, maybe we could see Dr. Anders on the table too?

That’s A Wrap

Flashpoint has the potential to cover the entire Halo timeline, one era at a time. So which chapter of Halo would you like to see on your table next?

If you’d like more news and ideas like this one, be sure to subscribe to The Dispatch newsletter. We’ll see you out there, commanders!

Flashpoint Through the Ages: Where Could the Game Travel in Halo’s Timeline?