8 details we already know about 'Halo Infinite,' the ambitious next game in the blockbuster Xbox franchise

At the end of "Halo 5: Guardians," which came out in 2015, there were some loose ends.

"Halo Infinite" intends to tie those up, or at least offer a continuation of where things left off.

"In Halo Infinite, the game will focus on the Master Chief and continue his saga after the events of Halo 5," 343 Industries studio head Chris Lee said in a blog post when the game was revealed.

It's not clear who the soldiers are in the image above.

A game "engine" is the software used to build a game. Think of it like Adobe Photoshop: a software tool used to create digital works. 

In the case of "Halo Infinite," the team at Microsoft-owned 343 Industries custom-built their own engine — software tools — to create "Infinite." The project is said to be so ambitious that a custom engine was required. "We knew we had to build new tech to fully realize our goals for 'Halo Infinite'," Lee said.

The new engine is appropriately titled the "Slipspace Engine" — a reference that only the nerdiest of "Halo" fans will understand (myself included).

Part of evolving Halo with "Infinite" is taking the series in a new direction visually while respecting what fans love.

To that end, the game's new visual style is said to be inspired by "the most iconic and historic parts of the 'Halo' franchise ... while modernizing and taking advantage of the full power of the Xbox One family."

More than just showcasing fancy new visuals, the debut trailer for "Halo Infinite" offered a glimpse into a vast new ring world with a variety of environments, animalia, and weather patterns.

The final game may not feature the same world, but it is likely to look like what we're seeing here. It sounds like "Infinite" will be set in one large world — the game's official website describes it as "a living, breathing world ripe for exploration and endless gameplay possibilities."

So, open-world "Halo" maybe? Maybe! An online-only game like "Destiny," but with a separate single-player campaign maybe? Maybe! It's not clear just yet.

At one point in the trailer, the ultimate supersoldier four-wheeler shows up, racing down a dirt road. The Warthog has been a "Halo" series staple since the original game, and it's no surprise to see it return in "Halo Infinite."

At the end of the trailer, Master Chief is seen inserting what looks like a double-thick SD card into the back of his helmet. That's likely to be an AI — a reference to his usual (digital) partner, Cortana. But Cortana was AWOL as of the end of "Halo 5: Guardians," so it's not clear what (or who) is being plugged in here.

Microsoft is intent on making "Halo Infinite" a game that "Halo" fans love. As such, there will be a way to play early versions of the game and offer feedback. "In the future, you will be able to join early flighting programs that will let members of the community play the game with us, and give direct feedback," Lee said. 

Without a release date or even a release window, it's not clear how soon that "future" will become present. Given that the game's debut trailer was intended to demonstrate the software being used to build it, rather than showing gameplay or even something cinematic demonstrating the story, it seems we have at least a year or two to wait.