Halo’s New Lore Reveal Continues a Bungie Tradition From 1994’s Marathon
Cortana and The Weapon share more than a mission—they’re born of the same mind, a lineage that jolts the Halo saga into its next reckoning.
Halo finally put a real name to The Weapon, and yes, it is exactly the kind of deep-cut reference you expect from this series. After a few years of calling Master Chief's new AI simply 'the Weapon,' we finally know what to actually call her.
The reveal
At the 2025 Halo World Championship (HCS Worlds), voice legend Jen Taylor (Cortana/The Weapon) and Steve Downes (the Chief himself) did a live reading from Kelly Gay's upcoming novel 'Halo: Edge of Dawn.' In the excerpt, the clone of Cortana finally introduced herself for real:
'I am UNSC AI serial number CN0435-0, name designation Joyeuse.'
Pronounced 'joy-oose,' if you want to avoid mangling it. The crowd applauded, because fans have been waiting for this answer since Halo Infinite launched in 2021.
Why 'Joyeuse' is a very Halo choice
Joyeuse is the legendary sword of Charlemagne, the heavy-hitter who reshaped European politics in the late 700s. That might sound oddly specific for an AI name, but it tracks perfectly with the franchise's long-running habit of pulling from medieval blades and paladins. Bungie started that pattern in the 90s, and it never really left, even after Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) took over the mainline games.
- Durandal: an AI in Bungie's 1994 shooter Marathon, named after the sword of the French paladin Roland (yes, Marathon is widely seen as a precursor to Halo)
- Cortana: named after the blade of Ogier the Dane, another paladin tied to Charlemagne
- Joyeuse: Charlemagne's own sword, now the chosen name for the Weapon
So when does this actually matter?
Good question. For now, the name comes via a reading from an upcoming novel, not a game. There are multiple Halo projects in motion, though. The big one on the near horizon is 'Halo: Campaign Evolved' — a full Unreal Engine 5 remake of the first game — slated for next year on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The expectation is that future Halo installments will be multi-platform too. Whenever Halo 7 shows up, we will all be hearing 'Joyeuse' in our heads until a game says it out loud.
Meanwhile, a little remake turbulence
On the remake front, a veteran Halo: CE developer had thoughts about one controversial tweak: adding sprint and making it optional. He did not mince words:
'If you make a game mechanic optional you have abandoned your post, thrown up your hands and admitted you have no vision'