The excitement around Halo 5: Forge has been a little bit muted, you might say, because it's really more of an editor for Halo 5: Guardians on the Xbox One than it is a full-blown game. But NeoGAF user Stinkles, aka Halo franchise development director Frank O'Connor, dropped a bombshell today when he revealed that it will (at some point after launch) include a custom game browser, essentially turning it into a full-blown, free online shooter.

The comment came in this NeoGAF thread, in which O'Connor remarked on his improving mouse/keyboard skills and then added, “Once the custom game browser is available I think the community might get crazy legit.” In a follow-up, he added, “Won't be there at launch. But it's comin'.”

That's a big bit of news (and kind of an odd thing to just drop casually on GAF), because the presence of a game browser takes Forge from a “make stuff for our real audience” tool to a real and proper game in its own right: A free online shooter with potentially unlimited maps and modes. We don't know exactly how it will work yet, but a 343 Industries spokesperson confirmed that the post on GAF is legit.

“Yes, a join-in-progress custom games browser is currently in development for Halo 5: Forge (Win10) and Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One) and is planned for release in a future content update,” the rep said.

That changes things, doesn't it? Halo 5: Forge will be out on September 8. The system requirements were revealed last week.