Skyrim has broken containment. No longer content with multiple releases on every platform under the sun, Bethesda's magnum opus has now spilled over into other games. At least that's what I understand after checking out the incredibly detailed recreation of Skyrim's Whiterun created in Halo: Infinite's Forge mode. Finally, let's load up the rocket launcher and show Nazim what the Cloud District is really like.

Discovered by Rebs Gaming (opens in new tab), this map was created by a creator called Bullet2thehead9 (formally Ethan Hibbs) Hibbs has accurately recreated Jarl Balgruuf's territory down to the smallest detail. Guildergreen trees dominate the town square, the streets are as winding as you remember them, and a statue of Talos looms in the center. I don't think Talos was wearing the armor of a UNSC marine (open in new tab). Maybe it is in C0DA (open in new tab).

It is a testament not only to Hibbs' talents as a mapmaker, but also to the versatility of Halo Infinite's Forge mode. Another Halo mapper, CaptainDireWolf, appeared in a Rebs Gaming reply (opens in new tab), highlighting the contrast between his own Whiterun maps created for Halo 5 and those created by Hibbs, including CaptainDireWolf's map (opens in new tab) is still an impressive effort, but clearly lacks detail and refinement compared to what Hibbs was able to do with Infinite.

The map received praise from all quarters and attention from Bethesda (open in new tab) and Microsoft (open in new tab). At the very least, it was probably accompanied by a new (to me) image of a Skyrim NPC with an arrow sticking out of his leg (opens in new tab). A small mercy.

Last year was a pretty disastrous year for "Halo Infinite" (opens in new tab), characterized largely by fan frustration and a snail's pace of crawling development on key features. On the plus side, November's Forge mode beta release put fans in a better mood than they have been in a long time (opens in new tab), and projects like Hibbs' Whiterun map show just how flexible and capable this 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, you can download it at Halo Waypoint (opens in a new tab). Or you can watch him play the Halo theme on guitar. Pretty cool too.