The Halo games have been some of the most popular and influential titles in modern gaming. Playing a huge role in putting Microsoft's Xbox consoles on the map, the Halo games have always found ways to innovate its gameplay in both radical and subtle ways.

While the latest in line might not have made the strongest first impression, Halo Infinite is still surrounded by lots of expectations and speculation. The original developers of the Halo games, Bungie have now parted ways with Microsoft and 343 Industries have taken the helm. Almost 20 years after the series debut, Bungie's groundbreaking design philosophies continue to inspire and influence Halo Infinite.

RELATED: Every Halo Infinite Rumor and Leak So Far in 2021

The original Halo's development was far from smooth, and a lot could be attributed to the unclear vision of what the team wanted Halo to be. Originally being designed as an RTS, Halo: Combat Evolved went on to become a third-person shooter, and then finally took shape as a first-person shooter. Halo: Combat Evolved featured a lot of open environments for players to explore, which might be a result of the game's original vision. Bungie filled this open space with a bunch of easter eggs and secrets, only accessible to the most curious of fans.

Almost 20 years later, Halo Infinite has plans of doubling down on these elements with the addition of open-world elements into the equation. 343 Industries showed off huge open areas in the original gameplay reveal and has stated that players are incentivized to explore these new environments in search of secrets. It's most likely that the open-world elements would be far more fleshed out than it's predecessors, and it's not hard to guess where the inspirations lie.

The original Halo: Combat Evolved was revolutionary in more ways than one, but its effort on making an FPS feel great (if not better) on a controller is its greatest achievement. While many prior games such as Goldeneye 007 fiddled with the idea of shooters on a controller, Halo: Combat Evolved laid the blueprint which would be followed by shooters for years to come. Employing a bunch of tricks and behind-the-scenes cheats, Bungie was able to make the precision shooting of Halo accessible to everyone within the constraints of the original Duke controller.

Halo Infinite might not carry the same impact in the controls department, but it's certainly putting more thought into the freedom of play and choice. The game's PC port seems to be shaping up great, with a plethora of options allowing for flexibility over the experience players would like to have. While there's not much information on how 343 Industries plans to mitigate player disability issues such as color blindness, but there's a decent chance that players would be given options in that respect as well.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a huge leap in this regard and should help more players enjoy Halo Infinite. While Bungie's work on the Halo trilogy might not be a direct inspiration, the spirit of Halo definitely lives on.

Halo Infinite is expected to be released in Fall 2021 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: How Halo Infinite's Razorback Differs From the Warthog