UPDATE: Quinn DelHoyo (Multiplayer Designer) of 343 Industries just updated us with some more Halo 5: Guardians Beta news about maps and gametypes:

@EDWSnip3down BR starts on Friday for the second week of the Beta. — Quinn DelHoyo (@quinndelhoyo) December 30, 2014

@MapIesy More maps and modes this Friday. — Quinn DelHoyo (@quinndelhoyo) December 31, 2014

@Imlevelzer0 New maps cycle out old maps in Slayer and Breakout debuts this Friday. — Quinn DelHoyo (@quinndelhoyo) December 31, 2014

@cCanuckTJW Might be too late. Week 2 starts around 9am — Quinn DelHoyo (@quinndelhoyo) December 31, 2014

Over the past weekend, a handful of lucky Halo fans had the opportunity to play the Halo 5 Beta for the first time, as 343 offered an early-access look at the beta in order to stress test the game before the Beta is released to the public on December 29th.

Along with this early access, 343’s Andy ‘Bravo’ Dudynsky and Twitch’s Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez hosted a livestream that highlighted both new Halo 5: Guardians gameplay as well as the game’s new spectator mode. In this livestream, 343’s Josh Holmes joined the show to answer fan questions as well as announce a few things regarding the beta. One of these announcements was a handful of details regarding the Halo 5 Beta schedule. Below is a list of the playlists, gametypes, and maps you will see throughout all three weeks of the Halo 5 Beta.

Week 1: Slayer (AR Starts):

Slayer: The first week of the Halo 5: Guardians Beta will feature the same content from the early-access period. Slayer with Assault Rifle starts will be played on Truth, the reimagining of Midship, as well as Empire, a new symmetrical map featuring the Sniper Rifle.

Week 2: Slayer (BR Starts) and Breakout (SMG Starts):

Slayer: As players begin week two of the Beta, they will now get to play Slayer on two remix maps, Regret and Eden. Both of these maps feature similar themes from the previous maps (Truth and Empire) but have new geometry, weapons and strategies. Josh Holmes announced that players will be able to vote on one of two weapons that will appear as a Power Weapon on Regret.

Breakout: Breakout is Halo 5’s new round-based Slayer gametype. Each player has one life each round and the first team to eliminate all enemy players wins the round. The first team to take five rounds wins the match. This gametype features SMG starts with ‘heightened lethality’, meaning all kill times are slightly faster than standard modes. Two maps will be featured in this playlist: Crossfire and Trench, both designed from the ground up for the Breakout gametype.

Week 3: Strongholds (New Objective Mode):

Strongholds: Week 3 features a new objective gamemode that 343 has not yet talked about. Strongholds appears to feature some form of territory based gametype, however we are currently unsure exactly how this gamemode will play. In addition, 343 has announced that players will be able to vote to decide what maps are played during the Week 3 portion of the beta.

What week of the Halo 5: Guardians Beta are you most excited for? Discuss the new maps and modes on our forums now!