‘Halo 5 Guardians’ ramp up maps for Valentine’s Day as dev sign license on new Halo toys

A lot of games are bringing in some new seasonal content that are in time with the love month. “Halo 5: Guardians” can also expect the special romantic treatment this side of gaming for 343 Industries latest title.

The developer has rolled out a new playlist dubbed “Valentine’s Double Date,” which pits pairs of players against each other. IGN reported that the playlist will have 2v2 action in a backdrop of pink and hearts all over.

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A sneak peek of the Valentine’s Day map can be seen in the link above. According to the sources, the playlist will be a compilation of custom maps sporting the season’s colours, while the 2v2 Slayer game approach will put the “Halo 2” Battle Rifles in the hands of players at the start of the game.

“Halo 5 Guardians” is not the only game to see a doubles set-up for the event. Fans of shooter titles will feel that this is a similar approach to how Bungie had updated “Destiny” with the Crimson Days event.

There’s also good news for Halo fans who have been into collecting toys from the franchise. Developer 343 Industries and Mattel have signed a master licensing agreement with Mattel, known to be the one of the biggest toy manufacturers in the world.

This step expands the reach of “Halo 5 Guardians” and Halo as a franchise beyond the video game realm. According to both companies, the partnership signified the unification of the design and vision for creating new toys for “Halo 5 Guardians.”

In fact, the collaboration has already reportedly bore fruit. The two of the newly designed weapons that came with the Infinity’s Armor had taken inspiration from BOOMCo.

“We’re excited to expand our relationship with Halo and 343 Industries to create and collaborate on a broad range of multi-category toys and collectibles,” said Joe Lawandus, SVP of Design and Marketing over at Mattel to Xbox Wire. “From MEGA Bloks to blasters, action figures to radio controller vehicles, our new line for 2016 features something for Halo fans everywhere.”

The lineup of Halo products from Mattel will be available during the New York Toy Fair over the weekend. Mattel’s Collector’s Night will be highlighted on Sunday, where fans can view the Halo products.

Come fall, there will already be a lot of new products coming to retail. Some of these include BoomCo. Halo Brute Spiker, Halo Warthog + 12-inch Master Chief, the assortment of 6-inch Halo figures and Halo Energy Sword, among others.