Halo Infinite has been delayed into 2021. The game was originally scheduled to launch on PC and console alongside the release of the Xbox Series X later this year, but the developers say “multiple factors”, including COVID-19, have caused them to push back the launch.
“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,” 343 studio head Chris Lee writes in the announcement. “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.”
Lee says that “it is not sustainable for the well-being of our team or the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday.” Lee concludes the post by saying “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.”
With the original Halo Infinite release date scheduled for sometime within the next four months, it was strange that we hadn’t seen much more of the game than we had. The gameplay demo revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase in July failed to impress a plenty of players, and while the quote here doesn’t directly address those criticisms, it’s likely those complaints helped push for the delay.
Halo Infinite is still scheduled to launch simultaneously across Xbox and PC, including Steam. The Xbox Series X is on track to launch this November.