Within a month fans will be able to enjoy 343 Industries’ (343i) latest installment in the Halo franchise; Halo 5: Guardians. With the release date closing in, 343i has been releasing more info on certain aspects of the shooter. Recently 343i released a video detailing the game’s Requisition (REQ) system, and according to the 343 studio head Josh Holmes, details regarding launch playlists, custom games and the Forge mode, will follow in the next couple of weeks.

　　On the Teambeyond forums, Holmes answered some burning questions from loyal Halo fans. The first question being asked involved the game’s arena mode, and the amount of gametypes included in that mode. In Halo 5, the Arena multiplayer mode is built for competitive play.

　　Arena is purpose-built for competitive play. It celebrates everything at the core of Halo multiplayer. We have even starts, a level playing field, [and] a variety of game modes that cater to that taste. It’s built from the ground up for esports, but it’s there for players of all skill levels”, said Holmes in an interview with Gamesbeat.

　　

Launch playlists communicated next couple of weeks

Holmes was asked whether gametypes ‘Oddball’, ‘King of the Hill’ and ‘Assault’, are included in Halo 5. Although Holmes didn’t directly answer the question, he did state that launch playlists will be communicated in the next couple of weeks. The studio head did confirm that more than 4 gametypes will be included in Halo 5’s matchmaking.

　　

Max 16 players in Custom games, Forge News Inbound

With regard the Halo 5’s Forge mode and custom games, Holmes was asked about the maximum amount of players allowed. According to Holmes, custom games will have a max player count of 16. Details regarding the Forge Mode will follow soon, likely next week. Interestingly previous Halo titles had the same amount of max players for custom games.

　　

343i tries to be be more transparent and communicative

The studio head also responded to feedback from a fan, who hopes that 343i will re-evaluate the way how 343i communicates with their community prior to a game’s release. Holmes replied that 343i is trying to be more transparent and communicative with the community on Halo 5, since he feels that open dialogue is really important and ultimately beneficial to the game:

　　We've been trying to be more transparent and communicative with the community on H5 because I feel that open dialogue is really important and ultimately beneficial to the game. That said, we are careful about communicating things that may change over the course of development because we don't want to set an expectation, then disappoint. In some cases folks like Bravo may want to communicate something to the community but the game team is still finalizing plans and we ask him to hold off. We'll work to get better in future, particularly as we continue developing features and content for H5 beyond launch.

　　Halo 5 releases in less than a month, on October 27th, 2015. Are you excited, and how do you feel about 343i trying to be more transparent and communicative?