This month’s IGN First is a bit different. Instead of focusing on one game, we’re looking at over a dozen with the “Hot Games of 2015.” And what better place to start than a sizzling hot 2015 game you can actually play right now: Halo 5: Guardians.

Indeed, Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s Trojan horse is proving its value thus far – offering a tantalizing playable glimpse at the future of Halo, which will be fully revealed by the end of the year. It all took a bit of getting used to – dashing here, Ground Pounding there – but now that we get it, we can’t get enough of it.

And so as the beta rolls on, so too does its content. Each week, fans are voting on various things they’d like to get their hands on. For next week, it’s something of a Sophie’s Choice: which of these two new Forge-made multiplayer maps, “Pegasus” or “Orion,” would you like to play? From developer 343 Industries:

“Beginning January 6, fans will be able to vote for Pegasus or Orion, and the winning forged map will be available to play during week three of the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta. Head over to the Halo Channel on your Xbox One or Windows 8.1 device and view tomorrow’s episode of the Bulletin to cast your vote!”

Take a look at videos of each map above so you can make an educated voting decision. And while I had 343’s attention, I caught up with Halo 5 studio head Josh Holmes to discuss how the beta is going and where the final game is heading.

First, I asked Holmes an obvious question: Can we expect a suite of 343-made Forge multiplayer maps in the final version of Halo 5?

“We will likely create and release a handful of maps,” he told IGN. “But we’re most excited to see what the community is able to create when they get their hands on Forge.”

What about the Forge tools? How can we expect them to improve over previous incarnations? “We have made a number of improvements to usability as well as providing multiple palettes, terrain sheets, and lighting set-ups for Forgers to build with,” he answered.

Given how the quality of the maps are a big key to making a Halo game memorable, I asked Holmes if any other classic maps would get the “Regret”/“Midship 2.0” treatment in the final version of the game. “We have no plans to remake any other classic Halo maps at this time,” he began, and then added, “Though we are continually inspired by the legacy of great maps that have appeared throughout franchise history.” Hmm, well “Regret” isn’t technically a “Midship” remake, so maybe there’s hope…?

So, what about the other three maps that are in the beta, after “Truth,” “Empire,” “Crossfire,” “Pegasus,” and “Orion”?

“‘Pegasus’ and ‘Orion’ will be the focus of a community vote with the winning map released for play in week three of the beta,” he began. “[This week], we're featuring two of our new ‘remix’ maps in Slayer: ‘Regret’ and ‘Eden.’ Remixes start by taking an original map as the foundation for setting and then introduce changes in map geometry and flow, weapon layout and time of day. The goal is to create variant versions of the map that look and play very differently from one another.

“‘Regret’ is a remix version of ‘Truth’ that is set on a crashed version of the Covenant battlecruiser. ‘Eden’ is a remix version of Empire that takes place at night and features a more open combat space in the center courtyard with parallel catwalks providing additional verticality. Also [this week], we're showcasing our new Breakout mode, which is built in a futuristic Forge-able arena. Within this mode players will battle on two maps, ‘Crossfire’ and ‘Trench,’ which is a tighter map with more enclosed spaces and additional cover to incentivize more close quarters combat.”

Next, I was curious how player feedback from the beta will actually affect the final version. So I asked Holmes: How different might the final version of Halo 5 arena multiplayer look compared to this beta, based on the feedback you'll receive?

“We’re excited to be releasing this beta almost a year before the release of the game,” he started. “While this is the earliest that we’ve done a beta and things are in a less polished state than they would be if we were releasing closer to launch, it’s important to us to get the game into the hands of fans while we still have the time to react to feedback. The input that we receive from the community will feed into our remaining development and help us to achieve our goal of making Halo 5: Guardians the best multiplayer shooter on consoles when we launch in 2015.”

Holmes continued, “We’ll be carefully considering all sorts of feedback including weapon tuning, balance for the new Spartan abilities, weapon placement on maps, audio mix, and much more. We encourage all participants in the beta to go to halowaypoint.com and sign up for our community feedback program. In addition we’ll also be paying close attention to the various community forums and social media and we appreciate people taking the time to share their impressions.”

Finally, I couldn’t help but notice that 343 has been very specific that this is the “Arena” multiplayer beta? Does that mean we're going to get a second multiplayer beta closer to release that includes vehicles and larger player counts?

“We currently have no plans for a second multiplayer beta,” Holmes said, shooting me down. “The Arena experience showcases the core Spartan abilities and mechanics that provide a foundation for other modes throughout the game. We’ll have more to discuss on the remainder of our multiplayer suite next year including larger, more vehicle-focused experiences. For now we are wholly focused on the current beta and looking forward to hearing feedback from participants.”

As a reminder, the Halo 5 beta runs until January 18. And for more Hot Games of 2015, keep an eye on IGN all January long!