343 has announced that Halo Infinite has been delayed until 2021. In a statement posted on social media and the Halo Waypoint Blog, the Studio Head cited COVID-related impacts and multiple other factors that contributed to development challenges.
The statement reads:
Today I want to share an important Halo Infinite development update with the community. 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.
Thank you for your support and understanding.
Chris Lee
Studio Head, Halo Infinite
The news come after the gameplay reveal of the game two weeks ago, which was viewed quite negatively by some gamers due to concerns of graphics. This was addressed in a blog post by 343 Studios.
Microsoft has also announced that the Xbox Series X will launch in November, although no other details have been confirmed at this stage.