Bruce Thomas, the motion-capture actor for Master Chief in 343 Industries' upcoming Halo Infinite, has seemingly confirmed a Spring 2021 release date for the game. The Halo series began in 2001 with developer Bungie's Halo: Combat Evolved, but 343 Industries took over development of the series with Halo 4 in 2012. The newest game in the series, Halo Infinite, was intended to be an Xbox Series X/S launch title before multiple delays.
With so little information available about Halo Infinite, fans can only speculate about some of the game's most important features. Microsoft's Vice President of Gaming, Phil Spencer, has recently explained that the game's campaign and multiplayer modes may launch separately, an unorthodox move for the long-running franchise. Spencer explained that this method of launching the game's two modes separately could happen, but if it is done right and leads to a better game overall. Details of Halo Infinite's story are also few and far between, other than the fact that the iconic Master Chief will return once again. Author Troy Denning, who penned the tie-in novel Halo: Shadows of Reach, has explained that the events in his novel will tie directly into the story of the latest entry.
Actor Bruce Thomas, who's providing the motion-capture performance work for Master Chief, recently indicated to YouTube's Dan Allen Gaming that Halo Infinite will be ready for a Spring 2021 launch. Thomas has provided the motion-capture performance for Master Chief in all of 343 Industries' Halo games, so he's as close of an inside source as they come. Wccftech reports that towards the end of the interview, the actor indicates that his work on Halo Infinite is essentially complete, shown in a briefer clip from the interview shared on Reddit by VerdanskChips9, in which Thomas says that the game is "in the can, ready to go for next spring."
In an interview about BO: Cold War, the Mo-cap actor for Master chief brought up infinite. Did his final few words confirm a spring release? Or am I just super dumb? from halo
The impending release of Halo Infinite comes after a long line of controversies and criticisms surrounding the game. 343 Industries somewhat recently unveiled the game's new customization system, which restricts players to only combining preset colors, textures and patterns to customize their character's armor. This system was met with criticism due to the fact that players will be forced to pay for limited customization options in a Destiny Shader-like system designed to drive microtransaction sales. Overall, the title has experienced a very tumultuous development so far, with multiple delays and the loss of two different lead developers and an executive producer worrying many franchise fans.
Halo Infinite's shaky development cycle means that further delays are always a possibility. However, actor Bruce Thomas has completed his work on the project, suggesting that most or all of the game's story mode has been written and recorded. The Halo fanbase is sizable, loyal, and defensive of their beloved franchise while also being its largest critics, so only time will tell how the game is received once Halo Infinite is finally released.
Halo Infinite will be available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC in 2021.
Source: Dan Allen Gaming, Wccftech