Microsoft is delaying Halo Infinite until 2021

Microsoft and 343 Industries decided to postpone the launch of Halo Infinite until 2021. 343 Industries said the delay was related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as employees had shifted to work from home, and developing large games had become extremely difficult for many. in the industry.

“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,” said Chris Lee, head of studio Halo Infinite. “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.”

Halo Infinite Development Update pic.twitter.com/TFZvXhRN9f

— Halo (@Halo) August 11, 2020

The decision Microsoft Xbox chief warned me, Phil Spencer, might come earlier this year. “I’d say the bigger unknown is probably the game production, just being honest,” Spencer said in May. “Game production is a large scale entertainment activity now, you have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working through creative.”

Bungie, developer of Destiny 2, also recently postponed the next big Destiny 2 expansion to November 10, citing development difficulties during the pandemic. Naughty Dog also cited the pandemic due to delays in launching The Last of Us Part II earlier this year.

Related: Microsoft has confirmed Halo Infinite multiplayer will be available for free and up to 120fps

However, Microsoft continued to push and demonstrate Halo Infinite during the Xbox Game Studios event a few weeks ago. At the time, Microsoft and 343 Industries were still publicly committed to launching Halo Infinite alongside the new Xbox Series X console, which will now hit store shelves in November.

It's unclear what has changed over the past few weeks to force Microsoft to postpone Halo Infinite until 2021. However, acceptance of the game has been mixed, with some criticizing the game's graphics and visuals. 343 Industries responded to the criticism, acknowledging that “we do have work to do to address some of these areas and raise the level of fidelity and overall presentation for the final game.”

With no clear release date for Halo Infinite, except for a 2021 release, 343 Industries will now have plenty of time to avoid typical gaming crises and respond to fan feedback in the months to come.

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