343 Industries just released an official statement announcing its difficult decision to further delay Halo Infinite to next year.
Criticism loomed Halo Infinite, more so after the Xbox Games Showcase last July, as Microsoft featured a lengthy gameplay preview for the game’s Campaign mode.
The highly-anticipated Halo title was assumed to be the face of Xbox Series X games, as it was deemed to be released alongside Microsoft’s next-gen console. Unfortunately, it will no longer be the case.
343 Industries’ Halo Infinite announcement
Sadly, the latest development update that 343 Industries released for the game franchise was the Halo Infinite delay to 2021. The decision to shift the release was to give the devs “adequate time” to assure the devs meet their vision for the game.
Halo Infinite has been widely hyped since the announcement of its existence. The game brew quite the online chatter among its player base community after its devs revealed that the Halo Infinite multiplayer will be free-to-play.
This led to rumors about the game likely to carry a Battle Royale mode. There’s a lot that is expected of for the premium game title, and a few were left disappointed after the latest gameplay preview.
Some might say that the overwhelming criticism might have led to the devs’ decision, but the official statement points to the struggle brought by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
An excerpt of the statement made by the game’s Studio Head, Chris Lee, reads:
“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
How crucial will the game release timing be?
Most of the followers of the game franchise met the sad announcement with great understanding. Most especially when Lee mentioned at the end, “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.”
U.K. gaming YouTuber, MrDalekJD, responded on Twitter with a quoted picture of the Japanese video game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, saying, “A delayed game is eventually good. A bad game is bad forever.”
It's easy for anyone outside of gamedev to point & mock 343 on Halo Infinite. It was the pillar for Series X this year – likely Microsoft's biggest ever project. It could have been rushed out & fixed later, but delaying out of launch for quality & employee health is commendable.
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) August 11, 2020
This is entirely true, as whatever 343 Industries decides to release will mold Halo Infinite for a lifetime. If the devs force to push a rushed game to feed the unending demand of the crowd, it will eventually flop, and that can never happen for the Halo franchise.
Most especially when the game is set to the “home of Halo for the next ten days,” according to IGN‘s sitdown with Studio Head Chris Lee.
Featured image courtesy Xbox/YouTube Screenshot