Halo Infinite: Fans debate ‘the right call’ as planned Xbox Series X launch game delayed until 2021

Sci-fi shooter had been set to become the next-generation console’s flagship launch game

The release of Halo Infinite, the highly anticipated new entry in Xbox‘s bestselling Halo franchise, has been delayed until 2021.

The game was scheduled to release around the end of the year on the next-generation Xbox Series X console, as its flagship first-party launch game.

According to developers 343 Industries: “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.”

In a statement posted to Twitter, the company also said that it was “not sustainable for the well-being of our team or the overall success of the game to ship it this holiday”, and acknowledged that the situation would be “disappointing” to many of the franchise’s fans.

It has also just been confirmed that the Xbox Series X would be releasing in November, meaning Halo Infinite will definitively not be available when the console launches.

The news of the delay was met with shock on social media, with some people praising 343 for abandoning the scheduled launch date in order to ensure a more polished game.

Many Twitter users described the decision as “the right call”, with one person writing: “I’m still sad but I get it. This is freaking HALO! You don’t come out half cocked with a gun this big.”

‘Halo Infinite’ will be released in 2021 following a production delay (Xbox Game Studios)

Many people shared the famous quote from Nintendo mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto, wherein he said that a “delayed game is eventually good”, whereas “a rushed game is forever bad”.

However, many others also bemoaned the delay, and noted Xbox’s lack of first-party properties to encourage sales when the new console launches.

With Sony’s own next-generation console, the PS5, arriving around the end of the year too, some people are speculating that the superior line-up of exclusive games, including Spider-man: Miles Morales, would leave the Series X some way behind, in terms of sales.

“No Halo Infinite this holiday season,” wrote one commentor. “Spider-man and PS5 will dominate.”