Halo Infinite's delay brought a dampener on Microsoft's next generation of consoles. With 343 Industries' new release being branded as Xbox's main competitor to Sony's vast library of exclusives, Microsoft even went as far as placing the memorable Master Chief on the back of day one Xbox Series X boxes, a damning reminder of the game's pushed back release date.
With the next installment of the franchise set to release at some point in 2021, and with the recent release of Halo 4 on PC for The Master Chief Collection, the developer of the game has been keen to keep fans as up-to-date as possible.
NEWS
In a post on the online Halo Community site Halowaypoint.com, user and 343 Industries Community Team member 'UNYSHEK' revealed that more updates regarding Halo Infinite will be provided "when it is ready," and that the developers "want nothing more than to answer your questions:"
"We can’t wait to go into deep detail about the rich story and characters in the Halo Infinite campaign, to dive into exactly how customization and progression works and shows up visually in the multiplayer experience, and provide a detailed look at the incredible depth of content across the entire game. Of course, this begs the question, “When are you going to show all that?” The best we can say right now is “when it’s ready.” That’s not the same as “when it’s done,” but it’s still “not yet.”
Later on in the post, 'UNYSHEK' also revealed the next community update will be released December 17, 2020, branded as their "end of year'" update, seemingly when fans can expect to hear more news regarding Halo Infinite.
WHAT THIS MEANS
343 Industries currently has a lot to juggle in terms of their workload. With the impending release of Halo Infinite right around the corner, the developer is still keen to keep the Halo franchise thriving. The original gameplay reveal back in July at the Xbox Games Showcases highlighted some major problems with the game, most notably the graphics, so when the postponement of the game was announced, fans were hit with a conflict of opinions.
While most will agree it's better to release a finished game late, has 343 Industries missed their chance to really succeed with Halo Infinite? With Xbox Series X and S now available worldwide, players are already experiencing the capabilities of their next-generation consoles, and fans can only hope that the developer has used the time wisely. Hopefully, come release day, the game stacks up to expectation.
XBOX Writer