Earlier today, 343 Industries announced that Halo Infinite will be delayed to a future date in 2021. With the first gameplay reveal during Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase last month, fans have been curious to get an exact date on when to secure a pre-order for Master Chief’s latest adventure. Now, with the delay of Halo Infinite until next year, 343 Industries is confident that the extra time will help the team “deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision”.
343 Industries has been following both critical and fan reception since the first Halo Infinite campaign reveal last month and has addressed some of the feedback following what the more vocal critics have had to say.
“While some of the feedback was expected and speaks to areas already in progress, other aspects of the feedback have brought new opportunities and considerations to light that the team is taking very seriously and working to assess. We don’t have firm answers or outcomes to share yet but the team is working as quickly as possible on plans to address some of the feedback around detail, clarity, and overall fidelity. The team is committed and focused on making sure we have a beautiful world for players to explore when we launch.”
For those that can’t view the embedded tweet, we’ve included the full text here.
Today I want to share an important Halo Infinite development update with the community. We have made the difficult decision to shift our release to 2021 to ensure the team has adequate time to deliver a Halo game experience that meets our vision.
The decision to shift our release is the result of multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year. I want to acknowledge the hard work from our team at 343 Industries, who have remained committed to making a great game and finding solutions to development challenges. However, it is not sustainable for the well-being of our team or the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday.
We know this will be disappointing to many of you and we all share in that sentiment. The passion and support the community has shown over the years has been incredible and inspiring. We wanted nothing more than to play our game with the community this holiday. The extra time will let us finish the critical work necessary to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever at the quality we know our fans expect.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
Chris Lee
Studio Head, Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite Development Update pic.twitter.com/TFZvXhRN9f
— Halo (@Halo) August 11, 2020
Halo Infinite was on track to be released later this Holiday for both the Xbox One and enhanced for Xbox Series X. With the delay into 2021, that will leave more time to develop Halo Infinite’s multiplayer component which was announced to be free-to-play. Hopefully the additional months will help 343 Industries balance the additional work necessary to get Halo Infinite into a shippable state without relying too heavily on any unnecessary crunch.
