Halo Infinite was destined to be one of the most interesting Xbox Series X launch titles, however, 343 Industries has just announced that the game has been inevitably delayed due to development challenges, Halo Infinite is now scheduled for a 2021 launch.
The announcement was made by Chris Lee, the head of 343 Industries, he explains that due to “multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including on-going COVID-related impacts affecting us all this year.” Halo Infinite’s showcase was heavily criticized and became a laughingstock for both Xbox and PlayStation fans.
343 Industries’ work is unappealing, and while Halo Infinite is not an Xbox Series X exclusive, and COVID-19 has slowed down the development all across the video games industry, the showcase of the gameplay looks like a homework halfway done for some.
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.
After the disastrous reveal, the development team addressed the situation and released an official statement explaining the development strategy for the next installment of the Halo franchise.
Based on our learnings from Halo 4, Halo 5, and Halo Wars 2–along with strong community feedback–we decided to shift back towards the legacy aesthetics that defined the original trilogy. With Halo Infinite, we’re returning to a more ‘classic’ art style which was a key message going back to the very first reveal that garnered enthusiastic and positive responses,” … “This translates to a more vibrant palette, ‘cleaner’ models and objects with less ‘noise’, though it doesn’t mean less detail. While we appreciate this may not be everyone’s personal preference, we stand by this decision and are happy to see it resonating with so many fans around the world.”
Source: EW
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A Nintendo Switch trailer was also released.
According to SteamDB.
An announcement trailer was also released.