Halo Infinite delayed to Fall of 2021

Microsoft's set a new launch date for Halo Infinite. The game, which was previously due out this holiday season, is now set to launch in autumn of 2021.

The news comes by way of a blog post that looks to address some feedback about the game's visuals that arose after its appearance in an Xbox Summer Showcase this year. Bungie veteran Joseph Staten writes that he joined the team at 343 Industries this year right as they were grappling with feedback from July's demo. "The discussion boiled down to one fundamental truth: we needed more time to do things right," he explains.

"That included pushing hard in [Fall of 2020], giving the team time to recharge over the holidays, and then coming back in January to finish the game at a healthy pace."

The rest of the post reads as a somewhat unusually defensive explainer for Microsoft, breaking down why some screenshots of a still-in-development demo of Halo Infinite looked slightly janky, and why the final game should look better.

It shows the unusual position that the company remains in with the announcement and marketing for Halo Infinite. It's a game that was supposed to be a system-seller for the Xbox Series X/S in its launch window, but now has been delayed both because of the normal trials of game development and the extra-unusual trials of a global pandemic.