Greg: The Battle Rifle has such a deep history in Halo and has a been a staple within the competitive scene since Halo 2, it just feels right to have it as the starting weapon with Halo Infinite being a spiritual reboot. The artists and audio experts really could not have written a more accurate love letter to Halo fans with their work on this weapon. Additionally, it is stunning both visually and audibly. As a player, you will feel confident and powerful with it equipped, just as a Spartan should.
For us, the BR75 is the definitive version of that iconic weapon. Halo has a rich history with powerful pistols like the Magnum, but it also has as strong a legacy with rifles like the Battle Rifle. For Halo Infinite, we felt it was important for the utility weapon to be in the form of a rifle. If you remember, this is something that was very important to us on Halo 5: Guardians as well, and is why the Magnum played such a key role as the starting utility weapon for that title. First, the importance of nailing the classic need for a starting utility weapon. But from a sandbox perspective, there are two ideologies that matter most to us when crafting our gameplay features.
Quinn: For competitive Halo there is a strong handful of tenets that we strive to understand and follow. Any item that can be earned can also be taken away through combat resolution, positioning, and tactical actions.