Cut Halo Wars units

This page discusses elements of deleted material and cut content. Some information on the page is sourced from game files and may not be verifiable through external sources. Where possible, such information should be clearly-marked and replaced with a proper external source as soon as one is available.

A number of cut Covenant units including the Gargoyle, Hydra and Brute Tank.

This article is part of a series on
Halo Wars cut content

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Cut content

Cut abilities
Cut buildings
Cut levels
Cut units

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Development

Halo Wars development
Concept art
Storyboards
Title Updates
Halo Wars Alpha
E3 2007 demo
E3 2008 demo
Cancelled sequel
Phoenix

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To check out cut content for other Halo games, see here!

v • d • e

During the development of Halo Wars, a number of units were concepted, prototyped and cut from the game.

UNSC

Albatross

Main article: D96-TCE Albatross

The D96-TCE Albatross logistical dropship was modelled and implemented in Halo Wars as the original ship set to deliver supplies to the firebase. For reasons unknown, it was replaced by the D82-EST Darter in the final game.

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  A screenshot of the UNSC Vehicle Depot, showcasing an Albatross on the Supply Pad to the right, just out-of-frame.

Cougar

Main article: M35 Cougar

"The Cougar is a heavily armored anti-infantry support unit used on the battlefield, specifically rough terrain. Equipped with dual M68 gauss cannons and an automated gun with computer targeting. Capable of long range travel and speeds of up to 90MPH."

— Concept art description

The Cougar was designed as a UNSC AFV, equipped with two M68 Gauss cannons. Although anti-heavy armor fire would blow the Cougar away quite easily, this vehicle was highly effective in holding off enemy armored vehicles until slower armored units could arrive at the battlefield. The Cougar had gained infamy in several urban tactical situations prior to the deployments in the war against the Covenant.

It appeared as a somewhat standard armored fighting vehicle with two wheels up front and two pairs in the rear. It bore a small mounted turret armed with two M68 Gauss cannons, as well as a machine gun or grenade launcher on other concept art. There was a windscreen on its forward body, with two side windows to provide a fairly high amount of visibility for the driver, which would have proved useful. It would have been able to reach a top speed of 90 mph.

The Cougar was ultimately cut from the game in favor of other vehicle ideas. Its shape may have proved the inspiration of the SP42 Cobra, as its role in Halo Wars was originally an anti-vehicle unit. The Cougar bears a striking resemblance to the World War II armored car, the M8 Greyhound.

The vehicle was later fully-canonized as the M35 Cougar in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), with the vehicle's lore and armament closely matching the lore flavor text given in the original concept art. The Cougar was one of several potential ideas suggested by MEGA Construx in a 2022 fan vote for which set should be created next. Concept art for the Cougar was provided alongside the Reaver, Warden Eternal and Flood invasion at Traxus Tower. The Cougar ultimately lost the vote.

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  Early concept art of the Cougar.

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  Finalised concept art of the Cougar.

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  The final Cougar model.

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  What the Cougar would have looked like in-game.

Falcon

Main article: F-23 Falcata

"The UNSC Falcon is the primary air attack unit of the UNSC Army. With swift attacks and exceptional maneuverability a small squad of Falcons can be devastating to enemy vessels. Armed with sidewinder missiles and heavy armor piercing guns."

— Concept art description

Not to be confused with a cut vehicle of the same name from Halo 2 or the tiltrotor helicopter that appeared in Halo: Reach, the Falcon was a UNSC aircraft that got so far as having a 3D model made. The Falcon was a twin seater fighter aircraft planned to be used by the UNSC Army. Originally intended to be a usable unit, stored in the UNSC airpad, it filled the role of strike fighter, packing enough firepower to destroy enemy vehicles and infantry with "Sidewinder" missiles and heavy armor-piercing guns. Like several other units, it was cut from the final game before it shipped.

In terms of design, the Falcon uses forward-swept wings (giving it an appearance similar to the 20th Century Sukhoi Su-47), which are used to provide stability during steep dives, indicating an emphasis in air-to-ground combat. Another, smaller set of wing flaps are attached to the ventral hull, possibly to improve stability. It also possesses two inward-angled vertical stabilizers at the rear, and missile pods attached to the base of the wing and the ventral hull. At the rear of the craft are twin jet thrusters, capable of tilting to allow VTOL capability. Retractable landing gear appears to be located at the wing tips.

In 2023, the Falcon was canonized as the F-23 Falcata, following a highly detailed model recreation made by 343 Industries 3D Character Artist Fletcher Kinnear under the alias Skaboodlydoodle. The model made by Kinnear was one of many done by him as part of a series of personal projects to bring several Halo Wars vehicles into the first-person shooter Halo games via modding, with other such recreations including the AV-22 Sparrowhawk, HRUNTING Mark III (S) Cyclops, M121 Jackrabbit, and Shua'ee-pattern Locust. Thanks to the work of the concurrent Digsite project, Kinnear was able to use the original Ensemble-developed Falcon model for reference when making his higher-detail recreation, making it a drivable vehicle mod for Halo: Reach. This process was documented in several videos on his YouTube channel, here.

Due to the Falcon being a name taken by Reach's utility helicopter, the aircraft was instead designated the Falcata, after the pre-Roman Iberian blade of the same name. This naming convention follows the UNSC's tradition of naming fighter aircraft after blades, with the name literally meaning "falcon-shaped," referencing the original Halo Wars Falcon designation.

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  Concept art of a squadron of Falcons in flight.

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  An early model for the UNSC Airpad, with several Falcons docked on the runway. Later builds would see these Falcons replaced with AV-22 Sparrowhawks, before the design was changed completely.

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  The finalised game model for the Falcon.

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  The Falcata modded into Halo: Reach.

Fox Cannon

"The UNSC Fox Cannon is a mobil log[sic] range artillery cannon firing rounds to ranges exceeding 50KM (52.8 maximum). Capable of firing five rounds per minute with satellite targeting. Firing 175mm M197 projectiles with destructive results."

— Concept art description

The Fox Cannon was a UNSC vehicle cut from Halo Wars. It was to be a self-propelled artillery vehicle, capable of firing five shells per minute, and with great accuracy due to satellite targeting over a distance greater than 50 kilometers. The Fox was equipped with a 175mm cannon that shot the M179 projectile. Given its role, it was likely replaced by the SP42 Cobra.

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  Fox Cannon concept art.

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  Fox cannon concept art.

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  Render of the Fox Cannon from the development of Halo Wars.

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  Another render.

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  Wireframe view of the Fox Cannon.

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  Another wireframe view.

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  Prerelease version of Halo Wars with the Fox Cannon in it.

Leviathan Mobile Firebase

The Leviathan Mobile Firebase is a UNSC vehicle concepted during the development of Halo Wars, but evidently never implemented. The vehicle is similar in size to the Mammoth, being many times the size of an M12 Warthog and serving as a mobile Firebase. The vehicle is seen to have several different configurations such as a "Suicide assault" variant with nose-mounted saw blades and a "Paris gun" variant equipped with a massive artillery cannon. However, the primary variant appears to be a vehicle that would fill a role similar to that fulfilled by the M312 Elephant in the final game, sporting numerous machine gun turrets, a mobile barracks and the ability to tow a Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, like that seen in the mission Reactor.

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  Concept art.

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  Concept art.

Mongoose

Early on in the development of Halo Wars, the M274 Mongoose was intended to be included. The vehicle got as far as having a model created and implemented in game, though by the time of the "Sway" alpha, all that remained in the files was a handful of text strings referencing test_pj_mongoose.

To create this Mongoose model, Ensemble 3D artist Jennell Jaquays had to rely on observing screenshots of the Mongoose as seen in Halo 3, as Bungie were unwilling to share the original model file with Ensemble.

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  The Mongoose unit in an early build.

Prototype infantry

This prototype infantry unit was created by artist Gene Kohler. Little is known of it or its purpose in-game.

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Tiger Tank

The Tiger Tank is a unit referenced in the game files. Little is known of it, except for the below icon.

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Covenant

Air Artillery

"Recently sighted behind several front line battles, it seems that the Covenant have developed an air based artillery unit. With no on board defenses, it can be very vulnerable if dealt with promptly. However, its heavy plasma mortar cannons can lay waste to an entire UNSC base quickly and it is therefore critical that we gain more field information on this vehicle."

— Official description.

The Covenant Air Artillery was a unit cut from Halo Wars some time prior to January 2008. The vehicle was to boast three plasma mortars, and was intended for use in a ground attack role - noted to be especially effective against static bases.

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  The final air artillery model.

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  Concept art for this vehicle.

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  A work-in-progress blockout of the Covenant Air Artillery.

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  Renders of the Air Artillery.

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  A high-poly render of the Air Artillery.

Brute Tank

The "Brute Tank" is a vehicle cut from the game, notable for its high similarity to the existing Wraith. However, the Brute Tank instead comes equipped with a turret like those found on the Scorpion tank. Text strings in the "Sway" alpha build reference brutetank_power_hack_obstruction, possibly meaning the tank was to have some form of hacking ability. Presumably, this vehicle was intended to be used by the Jiralhanae and their Chieftain.

Although the Brute Tank icon found in the final release of Halo Wars depicts a Wraith with a Scorpion turret, some models seen in earlier builds have a more distinctive appearance of a Wraith with a more Covenant-style turret; these vehicles bear some resemblance to certain Halo: Combat Evolved concept art, shown below. Another piece of concept art uploaded to ArtStation by Nathan Stefan shows a vehicle very similar to the Brute Tank, though the image itself is named gorgon-005 - this vehicle bears little resemblance to the Gorgon, so the art's status is unclear.

Another icon depicts this vehicle with a dome shield-like ability.

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  The Brute Tank.

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  A Brute Tank (top-left) alongside several other early renders of Covenant vehicles.

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  A pair of Brute Tanks (lower-left) alongside other Covenant vehicles.

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  The Brute Tank shield icon.

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  Brute Tanks can be seen in the E3 2007 build promotional images.

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  The Brute Tank, bearing a Scorpion turret.

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  Halo: Combat Evolved concept art by Shi Kai Wang, bearing heavy resemblance to the Brute Tank.

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  Nathan Stefan's concept art titled "Gorgon" - it is unknown whether this vehicle has any relation to the Gorgon mech.

Chimera

The Chimera was a Covenant unit cut from Halo Wars. It was a four-legged walker bearing slight resemblance to the Protos-pattern Scarab, though with a more hunched appearance.

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  The Chimera (bottom-left), seen alongside a handful of other WIP renders of various Covenant vehicles.

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  An icon for the Chimera from the in-game unit selection.

Elite Rangers

Found in some screenshots and an animation reel uploaded by animator Charles Tinney, the Elite Ranger was evidently to be a flying infantry unit. Their design is that of the Elite Rangers found in Halo 2.

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  Several Rangers can be found in the mid-back of this promotional screenshot.

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  The Ranger unit, as seen in Tinney's animation reel.

Gargoyle

Named only in game files, the Gargoyle was intended to be a Covenant bomber aircraft. In the final game, a menu icon is still present in the files to represent the unit.

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  A Gargoyle (top-right) alongside several other early renders of Covenant vehicles.

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  A trio of Gargoyles (lower-right) alongside other Covenant vehicles.

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  The Gargoyle's UI icon.

Gorgon

"When we originally spec'd out the Covenant, we gave them a ground-based, antiair unit called the Gorgon (above left) -- a bulbous, biped walker that used heavy Needlers to rip apart thin-skinned aircraft. Once it was in the game, though, we realized that we'd created a recognition problem: was the Gorgon a vehicle or infantry unit? We intended for it to be a vehicle, but the legs were causing problems, since we also said that "anything with two legs that walks is a dude." The final nail in the Gorgon coffin? The Covenant already had too many ground vehicles; we needed more air units."

— Dave Pottinger on the Gorgon.

The Gorgon was a vehicle created for the Covenant and intended for use in the anti-air role. The vehicle was envisioned as a walker equipped with a needle cannon, used to attack air targets. The vehicle's mech-based nature conflicted with Ensemble's philosophy that anything with legs was considered infantry, and the overwhelming abundance of Covenant ground vehicles - combined with the relative lack of aircraft - ultimately led to the Gorgon being scrapped and replaced with the Bkowe'nei-pattern Vampire. A very similar vehicle; the Reaver, was later implemented in Halo Wars 2.

Interestingly, a later Artstation upload by Nathan Stefan titled gorgon-005.jpg depicts a vehicle more similar in nature to the Wraith or similarly-cut Brute Tank.

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  The cut Gorgon mech.

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  Nathan Stefan's concept art titled "Gorgon" - it is unknown whether this vehicle has any relation to the Gorgon mech.

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  The Gorgon's menu icon in the final build of Halo Wars.

Hydra

Named in an image upload by artist Don Gagen, the Hydra was intended to be a Covenant aircraft.

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  A Hydra (top-middle) alongside several other early renders of Covenant vehicles.

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  Several Hydras (top-right) alongside other Covenant vehicles.

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  The Hydra's icon, seen in the final game.

Recon Drone

Present in the "Sway" alpha, the Recon Drone appears on an early version of the map Repository as a unit buildable in the map's central Sentinel factory alongside Aggressor Sentinels. Despite this Forerunner construction and neutral placement, the Recon Drone takes the form of a Yanme'e. The Drone has a complete model and animations, and is able to fly at high speeds around the map. True to its name, the Drone has no attacks, and is instead only intended for scouting.

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  The high-poly sculpt of the Recon Drone.

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  The textured final unit of the Recon Drone.

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  The Recon Drone in the internal alpha.

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  The Recon Drone found in Halo Wars: Definitive Edition.

Scarab (Protos-pattern)

"The Scarab has an anti-everything gun, and I'm losing."

— Graeme Devine's remark upon encountering the Scarab in the E3 demo.

Seen in the E3 2007 build and on the box art for Halo Wars, among other promotional screenshots, is the Protos-pattern Scarab—the Scarab variant notably found in the Halo 2 campaign levels Outskirts, Metropolis, and The Great Journey. However, the final game's Scarab would be a take on the Deutoros-pattern Scarab design featured in Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach.

In the E3 2007 demo, the Scarab appears near the end in a short vignette, climbing out of a Forerunner underground shaft. The Scarab proceeds to rampage across the battlefield, destroying several tanks and other units, and must ultimately be destroyed via MAC orbital bombardment.

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  Concept art depicting this Protos variant.

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  Multiple Scarabs in an early build of the game.

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  A Protos-pattern Scarab fighting Hornets.

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  A Protos-pattern Scarab seen right, firing on the UNSC force.

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  A Protos-pattern Scarab can be seen on the bottom-left of this image.

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  Another screenshot of the Scarab.

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  The Scarab as it appears in the Halo Wars E3 demo.

Forerunner

Cut Sentinel boss

While the Sentinels do appear on many maps and levels of the final Halo Wars game, this Sentinel design in particular does not. While superficially similar to the final game's Super Sentinel in design and proportion, it has a number of very notable differences; predominantly the massive size it has compared to most other units in the game. The unit was intended to appear on the campaign level Cleansing as a boss enemy, though was ultimately cut. The model for the Sentinel remains in the game files, unused. An image of the Sentinel in-game appears to show it emitting plasma mortar-like projectiles firing at the Flood forces below.

Interestingly, this design was later brought back almost unchanged in Halo Wars 2 as the Protector Sentinel.

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  Concept art of this Sentinel design.

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  A hi-poly render of the early Sentinel.

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  A wireframe of the early Sentinel.

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  A textured render of the early Sentinel.

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  The Sentinel boss in-game, demonstrating its massive size.

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  A Blitz card illustration of the Protector Sentinel, as it appears in Halo Wars 2.

Ambient AI

Creep

A number of maps in Halo Wars feature neutral AI factions such as rebels, Sentinels and Flood. These factions will typically be hostile to both the UNSC and Covenant. A number of additional factions were intended to be implemented in the game. These factions were developed under the codename of "creep", and include the following.

Heretics

One possible creep faction intended to be included in Halo Wars were the Covenant heretics - those who sought fit to defy the Covenant religion. Concept art reveals that Sangheili were intended to be soldiers in this faction, while unused files within the releases of Halo Wars and Halo Wars: Definitive Edition showcase additional Heretic Grunts. An additional texture file known as creep_heretic_ghost_01 indicates the Heretics would have access to the Ghost vehicle; piloted by a Sangheili.

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  Concept art for the Heretic Elites.

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  The Heretic Grunts; spawned in via modding.

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  The in-game unit icon for the Heretic Grunts.

Jackal pirates

Another cut creep faction that would have been included are the Kig-Yar pirates. Files for the Jackals are still available within Halo Wars, allowing the units to be spawned in via modding. The Jackals were to spawn in squads of four, armed with plasma pistols or needlers. The pirates would also have access to Kig-Yar Snipers armed with beam rifles.

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  Concept art for the Jackal Pirates.

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  Concept art for the Jackal Pirates.

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  The final model for the pirates.

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  The Jackal Pirates spawned into Halo Wars; armed with needlers.

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  The Jackal Pirates spawned into Halo Wars; armed with plasma pistols.

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  The Jackal Pirate snipers.

Rebels

While an unidentified insurrectionist group does appear in the final Halo Wars game on maps set on Harvest and Arcadia, released concept art indicates the rebels were intended to be much-more fleshed out. Released concept art showcases a rebel "sci-trooper" wielding an EMP gun and an insurrectionist-branded Gauss Warthog.

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  Concept art for the rebel sci-trooper and EMP gun.

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  Concept art for the rebel sniper units which were included in Halo Wars, and the cut Warthog.

Animals

Alongside the neutral factions, Halo Wars was intended to feature fauna as ambient AI in the game world. Some of these creatures were only concepted, while others were even modelled and textured for in-game implementation. For a list of other ambient life cut from other Halo games, see this page.

Arctic beast

The arctic beast was a creature concepted, modelled and textured for inclusion in Halo Wars, likely intended to spawn on maps set in the polar regions of Harvest. This creature was later canonised in 2015's Halo: Hunters in the Dark as the Chaefka; a species of life indexed by the Forerunners and present on The Ark. The following year's Halo Mythos saw a scene from the book visualised with a new illustration, using the arctic beast's design almost entirely unaltered.

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  Concept art for the arctic beast.

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  The high-poly sculpt for the arctic beast.

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  The textured low-poly model for the arctic beast.

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  An official illustration of the Chaefka from Halo Mythos.

Arctic ice hound

"I remember back in 2006 watching a show on Discovery channel called “Alien Planet”, it was based on a book called “Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV” by Wayne Douglas Barlowe (sadly out of print). Anyway, it’s a fascinating program and worth picking up the DVD. At the time we were beginning to concept Harvest and I remember coming in the next day talking about this show on Discovery and then running out and getting the DVD for the team so we could watch. I felt that the cycle presented on the show, which is as real on Earth as it is anywhere, was really well represented here (herd, hunter, scavenger) and that I wanted to see this in the worlds and environments in our game. So when you look at our concepts you’ll see that we have herd animals, hunters, and scavengers."

— Grame Devine, discussing the arctic ice hound.

This creature was one of a number of concepts developed during the discussions of the wildlife of Harvest. It was concepted and even modelled and textured, though cut from release.

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  Concept art of the creature.

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  A textured 3D model of the creature.

Thorn beast

The thorn beasts are another cut creature seen fully modelled, textured and animated; they are present in the Halo Wars E3 2008 build and can be seen walking around the map around thirteen minutes into the demo. They do not appear to attack UNSC forces. Thorn beasts remain canon in the Halo setting; with the Chieftain character said to particularly enjoy eating them; they were later featured in the novel Halo: Contact Harvest as a delicacy enjoyed by the crew of Rapid Conversion.

Interestingly, Halo Wars is not the first time the thorn beasts were developed to appear in a Halo game; they were originally designed by Paul Russel during the development of Halo: Combat Evolved, where they were modelled with an identical design and similarly cut.

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  Paul Russel's original thorn beast model for Halo: Combat Evolved.

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  A thorn beast can be seen in this image taken from the E3 2008 demo build of Halo Wars.

Space owl

"When Ensemble looks at making worlds come alive we look at more than trees, hills and cool water. We look at something we call "ambient life" which means things like cool space owls flying around (like this one) and creating a look and feel of a natural balance in the world. If these creatures react to the players interaction in the world (firing weapons for example) then that goes a long way to making the player feel that the world is actually someplace believable rather than an empty sandbox with an AI."

— Graeme Devine, discussing the "Space Owl".

The so-called "space owl" is another ambient creature concepted but ultimately never implemented in Halo Wars. The creature was described as having a wingspan of six feet.

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  Concept art for the creature.

Harvest whale

"After Harvest was attacked things didn’t go well for the population (Just read Joseph Staten’s excellent Contact Harvest!) but the wildlife fared even worse. As seas boiled, turned toxic and the ecosystem turned poisonous life on Harvest became impossible for creatures great and small. Our concept artists here have created one such scene of a beached alien whale being picked over by the last surviving wildlife on Harvest, the scavengers."

— Grame Devine, discussing the Harvest whale.

The Harvest whale was designed as part of the exploration for the wildlife of Harvest. This creature would likely not be seen as an ambient AI on the map, but instead a dead body appearing in the environment.

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  Concept art for the whale.

Oxyaena

The oxyaena is another creature fully modelled and textured for inclusion in Halo Wars. The creature was present in the game's E3 2008 demo, and can be seen wandering the map at around one minute into the demo.

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  The model created for the oxyanea.

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  The oxyanea in the E3 2008 demo.

Other creatures

These creatures have also been showcased in various work uploads related to Halo Wars. Little is known of their design intent or purpose, and are thus presented below.

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  Concept art for an eel-like creature.

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  A textured 3D model of an unknown creature.

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  A textured 3D model of an unknown creature.