Halo 5: Guardians is probably about one year away from its official launch date, but the new mechanics that the development team at 343 Industries is adding to the multiplayer side of the game are already generating a lot of debate among the player base.

The features were only revealed a few hours ago in an official Twitch stream which accompanied the launch of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and the studio in charge of the franchise is now ready to offer a few more details about each of them.

Sprinting was first revealed in some leaked videos and allows gamers to move quickly across the maps, avoiding threats or closing in with another character.

To balance it, 343 Industries has tweaked the game so that shields no longer charge when in full sprint, although gamers can now execute a slide in order to get into cover and avoid enemy fire, or they can use their momentum to power a charge that can shatter shields or can actually kill an enemy that has already taken damage.

The Thruster in Halo 5: Guardians allows players to change direction while jumping and get a speed boost, and an enhanced jump can now be used to launch a new Ground Pound move, designed to deliver damage to a group of enemies who are not moving.

The most controversial of the new concepts is the Smart Scope, which has been part of lore since the Halo series was introduced but can now be actively used.

Guardians might change a lot during the beta test

All the new features of Halo 5: Guardians will be available to gamers who take part in the beta test, currently scheduled for launch on December 29 of this year and set to go on for a three-week period.

343 Industries says that it plans to allow the community to choose which modes and maps are included and that all feedback is welcomed and will be used to improve the final product.

Halo 5 is set to arrive only on the Xbox One in late 2015 and is designed to start off a new series of titles connected to the classic franchise.

The single-player campaign will feature a new character called Agent Locke, who is at the moment also a part of the Halo Nightfall live action series and will spend the first part of the game trying to find out what happened to Master Chief.