One major factor in Infinite’s delay is thought to stem from the fact that “a significant portion of the game is outsourced to third-party contractors.” This is standard practice in the gaming industry, especially in AAA, but in the case of Infinite, the report suggests that the level of outsourcing has been unusually high, with “the coordination between the many different companies contributing to Infinite has been rough , at its best. “Thurrott’s source claims that the outsourcing “was relatively higher than a typical studio undertakes during development”, which has led to communication and collaboration headaches for 343 Industries. Apparently, the E3 2019 trailer for Halo Infinite was released while the game was not in a playable state, which “sold too much expectations for Infinite’s later demos.” The report suggests that the marketing and engineering teams behind Halo Infinite “have been on two different planets”, which has also led to problems in messaging the game.
The Thurrott report also dwells on the departure of creative advertisers such as Tim Longo and Mary Olsen as a reason for the unrest – both were creative directors who left 343 Industries in 2019. The recent rumor that the game with multiplayer will ship and campaign as separate entities is also ratified, with the report suggesting that this came under consideration as a means of “meeting the holiday 2020 deadline.”
Like the issues with outsourcing, one source told Thurrott that the long-running Halo TV series “has been a major distraction for 343 management.” According to the unnamed source, the show “has taken its priority instead of focusing on ensuring that the progress of development is on track to reach its goal line deadline.”For more on Halo Infinite, check out this episode of Next-Gen Console Watch 2020 where the team digs into the Halo Infinite delay, and wonder how the Xbox Series X can compete without launching its flagship exclusive.
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
