Last July, 343 Industries released the first gameplay demo of Halo Infinite, which quickly garnered criticisms due to its underwhelming visuals, prompting 343 Industries to comment on the criticisms. As a result, the studio revealed earlier this month that it is delaying Halo Infinite's release to fall 2021, citing that the developers needed more time to polish the game in a level of quality that its fanbase deserves.
Now, 343 Industries founder Bonnie Ross teased that 2021 will be a "big year" for the Halo franchise. While Ross did not reveal any specifics, she mentioned that the studio aims "to deliver something special" to players, specifying that the upcoming title will be the Halo game that fans deserve. Of course, given the negative reception received by the first preview of Halo Infinite, it would be interesting to see whether 343 Industries will be able to live up to this promise. But based on everything Ross has said so far, it appears that the studio is taking those criticisms to heart, which is definitely a step in the right direction.
Like most video game developers, Ross revealed that 2020 had been a turbulent time for everyone at 343, but that didn't stop the team from working on its line of games, especially Halo Infinite. According to Ross, the team is making good progress on Halo Infinite, but she did not disclose any significant details on the current state of the game's development. However, 343's founder made clear that despite the delay, Halo Infinite will be worth the wait.
Additionally, Ross talked about the decision to delay Halo Infinite at a later date. According to the developer, this decision was not made lightly but reassures fans that 343 is working hard to deliver the game to players as soon as possible. Ross ended her statement by thanking fans for being patient with Halo Infinite's development, promising that 343 Industries is eager to show more of the game in the coming months.
Last summer, a rumor began making rounds online claiming that Halo Infinite's Xbox One version has been canceled and that the game will release exclusively on the PC and Xbox Series X. This rumor turned out to be false, but it resurrected itself once more after a 343 Industries employee's LinkedIn page only mentioned the PC and Xbox Series X versions of the game. This led to Halo series community manager John Junyszek denying the persistent rumor on Twitter, which marks the second time that 343 Industries had to re-confirm Halo Infinite's launch on the Xbox One.
Halo Infinite launches fall 2021 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Halo Waypoint