Halo Infinite might take place on Zeta Halo — here's what you need to know

We've already dissected the trailer for Halo Infinite and combed it for hidden hints. Several of these indicated that the game will take place on a Halo ring — a type of location we haven't seen since the end of Halo 3 — but which ring specifically is the interesting part. For the first time, it appears that we'll be headed to Installation 07, or Zeta Halo.

This location is different than the other Halo Arrays we've seen in the series in a few ways. Here's what you need to know about what you might find on Zeta Halo.

A lush ecosystem

One of the most unique aspects of Zeta Halo is the fact that the Forerunners used it as a preserve for various species. This was done for the Conservation Measure; in order to preserve life in the universe when the Halo Arrays fired to stop the Flood, the Forerunners kept a small amount of each species contained in safe places away from the blast. During the Forerunner-Flood War, Zeta Halo ultimately fell into Flood hands, but not before the Forerunners were able to move most of the species to The Ark, another safe location.

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One the rings fired, the surviving Forerunners seeded the now-empty universe with these species before disappearing. However, given its previous role as a safe haven for lifeforms, it's not outlandish to think that they brought some species back to Zeta Halo. This appears to be the case, as the trailer for Halo Infinite shows both a type of deer and some kind of double-horned rhinoceros. In any case, you can expect to see more types of alien animals and plants then ever before.

Finding our ancient roots

Zeta Halo was home to countless forms of life. However, something interesting is that it was the only Forerunner facility to house humans. The humans that lived on the ring called themselves the Tudejsa, or "The People From Here". They lived alongside the various other plants and animals on Zeta Halo, and there's a very good chance that the ruins (and the strange written language visible on them) in the trailer for Halo Infinite belong to these ancient humans. This would mark the first time we ever get to see relics of the ancient humans in-game.

A dark secret

While Zeta Halo overall sounds like a place of beauty, the truth is much more disturbing. The leader of the Forerunners, Faber-Of-Will-And-Might, used the ring as a base for conducting Flood cure research with the ancient humans on it. Members of the Tudejsa tribe would often wake up and find that a member of their clan was missing, never to return; this was the result of the Forerunners kidnapping them, using them as test subjects with the Flood, and then terminating them afterwards.

Terrified, the humans came to refer to the site of the experiments as "The Palace of Pain", but in reality, there wasn't just one research facility. There were several, spread out all around the ring, and each one was home to the suffering caused by the Forerunners as they desperately tried to find a countermeasure to Flood infection. Seeing as many Flood-infected humans and other specimens were alive and contained in these facilities when the rings fired, it's entirely possible that the Master Chief will stumble upon them in Halo Infinite...and awaken a nightmare.