Perhaps you've been smashing skulls in the eclectic Fiesta playlist over the past few days as part of the Fractures: Tenrei event. Perhaps you've simply been grinding out Heroes of Reach and soaking in theits infamously slow battle pass progression. Maybe you've been steering clear of Halo Infinite all together until the full game launches on December 8.

Whatever your feelings on Halo Infinite, though, it's hard to ignore. The new live-action trailer (below) for the game has even been infiltrating more mainstream culture, showing up at half-time in the football, popping up in ad breaks between big TV shows and more.

"Throughout human history, heroes have risen when called upon. The Master Chief carries each act of bravery with him into his most challenging battle yet," says a blurb for the trailer. "We've always believed in heroes, it's time to become one."

Halo has a storied history when it comes to adverts – though none will ever live up to the gorgeous, atmospheric heights of the Halo 3 'diorama' advert that made such an impact around the launch of the Xbox 360 that my class and I even dissected that as part of an English Language A-Level. Yes, really.

It's been a pretty good (sort-of) launch for Halo Infinite so far; aside from some progression complaints that continue to irritate fans, the game has been well-recieved: the game got 100,000 players on Steam in under an hour, and attracted over 272,000 in its first night alone.

Microsoft is clearly hoping this momentum continues; Halo Infinite has been a long time coming for the company; it was initially set to launch alongside the Xbox Series X/S in November 2020, but it was pushed into 2021 after a poor showing in July last year. The delay has clearly helped stimulate appetite for the game – and it's not even properly out yet.