Skyrim has broken containment. No longer content with releasing multiple times on every platform under the sun, Bethesda’s opus is now bleeding into other games. At least, that’s my understanding after checking out an incredibly detailed recreation of Skyrim’s Whiterun created in Halo: Infinite’s Forge mode. Finally, you can load up a rocket launcher and show Nazeem what you really think of the Cloud District.
Spotted by Rebs Gaming (opens in new tab), the map was made by a creator called Bullet2thehead9, or Ethan Hibbs if you want to be formal. Hibbs has recreated Jarl Balgruuf’s domain in exacting detail. The Gildergreen tree dominates the town square, the streets twist and turn just how you remember, and a statue of Talos looms in the centre. I’m not sure Talos wore UNSC Marine (opens in new tab) armour in the established Elder Scrolls lore, though. Maybe that’s in C0DA (opens in new tab).
It’s a demonstration not only of Hibbs’ talent as a map-maker, but of the versatility of Halo Infinite’s Forge mode. Another Halo mapper—CaptainDireWolf—popped up in Rebs Gaming’s replies (opens in new tab) to highlight the stark contrast between their own Whiterun map made in Halo 5 and the one made by Hibbs. While CaptainDireWolf’s map (opens in new tab) is still an impressive effort, it’s noticeably lacking in detail and polish compared to what Hibbs was able to do in Infinite.
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The map has drawn praise from all quarters, and has even garnered the attention of Bethesda (opens in new tab) and Microsoft (opens in new tab), with the companies chiming in to offer kudos and make legally-mandated arrow to the knee jokes. At least it was accompanied by a new (to me) image of a needler dart piercing a Skyrim NPC’s leg (opens in new tab), I suppose. Small mercies.
Last year was pretty dreadful for Halo Infinite (opens in new tab), and was marked mostly by fan frustration and development on key features crawling along at a snail’s pace. On the plus side, November’s Forge mode beta release put fans in a good mood (opens in new tab) for the first time in ages, and projects like Hibbs’ Whiterun map show just how flexible and capable that mode is. With any luck, Whiterun will be just one in a long-line of maps and content that continue to breathe new life into the game.
If you want to check out Hibbs’ Whiterun map for yourself, it can be downloaded on Halo Waypoint (opens in new tab). Or you could just go watch him play the Halo theme on guitar. That’s pretty cool too.