Halo Infinite has been recently delayed into 2021, and the game’s developers have already denied one of the reports that tied the delay to the Halo TV show. There’ve been multiple rumors regarding the reasons behind the game’s postponement, but the official statement read that the decision was made to ensure that Halo Infinite would be a quality project in the wake of work-from-home struggles with COVID-19.
343 Industries shared an update on Halo Infinite’s release window more than a week ago. Judging by the published explanation, there's was no way that Halo Infinite would be ready to ship this Holiday season as a result of the team needing additional time to bring the game’s vision to perfection. Contrary to the official statement, many fans believe that the delay could be caused by negatively received gameplay reveal, but at least one of the rumors has now been officially debunked by 343.
The studio has provided IGN with an official statement claiming that the reports on Halo Infinite’s delay being related to a TV show in the same sci-fi universe are false. According to the original allegations, the creative team behind the game was distracted by the ongoing production of the Halo TV show for Showtime, but 343 Industries has clarified that these two projects are completely independent. In other words, the studio is not directly involved in the making of the series as there is a dedicated transmedia team within 343 Industries cooperating with Showtime. The whole of the development team is instead focusing on the next chapter of Master Chief’s video game adventures.
It’s not hard to understand why players are trying to find a better explanation of the delay than the officially provided one. Halo Infinite’s gameplay reveal was met with a fan backlash predominantly caused by technical and visual imperfections of the title. The most obvious assumption was the belief that the delay had something to do with the unfavorable reception, especially considering that devs acknowledged that the voices of the Halo community mattered. Another reason behind the delay could be 343’s desire to ship Halo Infinite as a complete experience packed with both singleplayer and multiplayer components, which, according to Phil Spencer, could’ve been included in separate releases.
While the delay of Halo Infinite is an irreparable loss for the Xbox Series X starting line-up, there are clear reasons for the decision. The community is hard at work uncovering the truth, while the development team is trying its best to deny some of the most absurd allegations. Players have to be patient in letting 343 do its job, and the real cause of Halo Infinite’s disappointing delay will soon become clear when the studio inevitably shares more gameplay footage. Until then, fan theories and proposed conspiracies are only distracting the studio, which could harm the game itself.
Halo Infinite is set to arrive on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in 2021.
Source: IGN