Microsoft and 343 Industries decide to delay the launch Halo infinite until 2021. 343 Industry says the delay is related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as employees have moved home to work and major game development has been particularly widespread in the sector.
“We have made the difficult decision to postpone our release to 2021 to ensure that the team has enough time to deliver. Hello game experience that meets our vision, ”says Chris Lee, studio head for Halo infinite. “The decision to postpone our release is the result of several factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related effects that we have this whole year. I want to acknowledge the hard work of our team at 343 Industries, who have continued their commitment to creating a great game and finding solutions to development challenges. However, it is not sustainable for the well-being of our team as well as for the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday. ”
It’s a decision that Microsoft’s Xbox boss Phil Spencer warned could happen earlier this year. “I would say the bigger unknown is probably the game production, just to be honest,” Spencer said in May. “Game production is now a large-scale entertainment activity. You have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working creatively.”
Bungie, developer of Destiny 2, also recently delayed the next size of the company Destiny 2 expansion to November 10, with the difficulties of development during the pandemic. Naughty Dog also cited the pandemic for a delay after the launch of The last of our part II earlier this year.
However, Microsoft drove forward and demo Halo infinite during his Xbox Game Studios event a few weeks ago. At present, Microsoft and 343 Industries are still publicly announcing to launch Halo infinite in addition to the new Xbox Series X console, which is now due to hit store shelves in November.
It is not clear what has changed in recent weeks to force Microsoft to delay Halo infinite until 2021. However, the reception for the game is mixed, with some criticizing the graphics and visuals in the game. 343 Industry responded to the criticism, adding that “we have work to do to address some of these areas and increase the level of fidelity and overall presentation for the final game.”
With no clear Halo infinite release date in sight, except for a 2021 release, 343 Industries will now have plenty of time to avoid the typical game shrinkage and fan feedback in the months ahead.
