Why do People Keep Thinking Halo Infinite is Gonna Be Delayed To 2022?

DeoGame · Jan 30, 2021

I was watching the Kinda Funny podcast this morning, and in their 2021 predictions I was confronted with an idea I've seen commonly: Halo Infinite will be delayed until 2022. Then, I watched a list from Watchmojo of games we most likely won't see in 2021 and again they put Halo at the top of the list, outright stating they wouldn't be surprised if development is restarted. Why does this keep popping up?

Yes, the game missed the launch of the Series X, yes the first showing left some things to be desired, yes there were creative changes, but the game is content complete and has been for a year now. 343 has been very clear on this, and Staten played the campaign from start to finish. People seem to forget that Infinite is a platform game with several expansions planned, so a changing of the guard makes sense for future content. If the game needs to be delayed to 2022 then by all means do so, but why do people almost keep implying it like it is a done deal. It's not just those aforementioned two videos either, I've been seeing this often.

FUNKNOWN iXi · Jan 30, 2021

Because veteran Halo fans know to expect the worst.

EDIT: While hoping for the best 🤓

DanteSparda504 · Jan 30, 2021

Because people like to think it's in development hell because people want to think there's issues with 343, when it's basically a complete game now and just being refined and polished in response to people whining about the graphics.

cvbas · Jan 30, 2021

Staten's hiring makes me think there'll be some major creative changes. If it was only a matter of bug fixing and visual improvements there'd be no need to get him.

And if the game was scheduled for the first semester we'd probably have a date (or release window) by now. If they are targeting fall, a delay into early 2022 is not impossible. Also, COVID and everything.

NuclearCake · Jan 30, 2021

343 hasn't exactly given a solid reason for anyone to be optimistic? Their history with this franchise speaks volumes.

Kalor · Jan 30, 2021

They seem pretty confident about the Fall date and their new monthly blog has been clear about their direction so any assumptions of further delays isn't really based on anything.

Scottoest · Jan 30, 2021

VDenter said:
343 hasn't exactly given a solid reason for anyone to be optimistic? Their history with this franchise speaks volumes.

Because they have a history of their games slipping for years?

You can like or dislike 343's Halo games, but they don't have a reputation for their games being in dev hell.

Scottoest · Jan 30, 2021

Cubas said:
Staten's hiring makes me think there'll be some major creative changes. If it was only a matter of bug fixing and visual improvements there'd be no need to get him.

And if the game was scheduled for the first semester we'd probably have a date (or release window) by now. If they are targeting fall, a delay into early 2022 is not impossible. Also, COVID and everything.

What? They've already officially said the game is coming out in fall 2021.

Staten was brought on to bring the project across the finish line, as he's been a producer at Microsoft for several years working on a variety of projects.

An Army of Bees · Jan 30, 2021

I don't see a world where the game misses this November, especially with it being the 20th Anniversary of both the Xbox and Halo. 343 has put out some of the best Halo content, and I really hope they can knock it out of the park.

EDIT: Also, regarding Staten: Infinite is supposed to be a game with massive post-launch support. This could easily be a Destiny situation where the base game comes out as currently designed and then whatever post-release content is done with his feedback specifically in mind.

ToadPacShakur · Jan 30, 2021

DeoGame said:
I was watching the Kinda Funny podcast

lemme stop you right there

KindaFunny is not the place to go for any competent xbox/PC news and opinions lol maybe their new show with Witta and SBM but that's IT

Stopdoor · Jan 30, 2021

Scottoest said:
Because they have a history of their games slipping for years?

You can like or dislike 343's Halo games, but they don't have a reputation for their games being in dev hell.

I think MCC and possibly Halo 5 has taught people that those should've been heavily delayed, so they're extrapolating.

KamenRiderEra · Jan 30, 2021

Despite the covid, I believe that Infinite was almost completed when the graphics debacle started. This extra year will be to polish and refine. I'm sure Infinite will release this year, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the franchise. Is my most anticipated game.

DeoGame · Jan 30, 2021

COUNTERSHARK said:
Also, regarding Staten: Infinite is supposed to be a game with massive post-launch support. This could easily be a Destiny situation where the base game comes out as currently designed and then whatever post-release content is done with his feedback specifically in mind.

That is what I'm thinking too. Staten will help with bringing the game over the finish line, maybe polish up the story a bit, and have further creative control over the updates if he wants it. They have a 10 year plan iirc.

Deleted member 46804 · Jan 30, 2021

DeoGame said:
That is what I'm thinking too. Staten will help with bringing the game over the finish line, maybe polish up the story a bit, and have further creative control over the updates if he wants it. They have a 10 year plan iirc.

This. If they truly want this to be a platform for years to come then they need strong creatives and leadership. Launching the game is only the beginning.

Dyergram · Jan 30, 2021

It's a pretty safe bet it already got delayed once even if it doesn't get delayed again it's easy click bait. I personally think had we had a traditional e3 last year games journalists would of given positive impressions (they already were) and it would of launched on time for better or worse.

FUNKNOWN iXi · Jan 30, 2021

Scottoest said:
Because they have a history of their games slipping for years?

You can like or dislike 343's Halo games, but they don't have a reputation for their games being in dev hell.

They do have a history of development hell, actually. Halo 4 had a troubled development, TMCC is obvious, and Halo 5 had a troubled development too.

H4 launched without some key features, the important terminal cutscenes needed to be watched in an outside app because they couldn't work them in on time, etc. etc. etc., Halo 5 launched barebones without a lot of multiplayer features too. TMCC was a distaster at launch.

I don't think we need to get more into specifics. These tales have been told, and they were loud lol.

FarSight XR-20 · Jan 30, 2021

People also expected the game to be fully rebooted or the campaign remade when Staten took the helm. It was not. Instead, he said that he was stunned "in the best possible way" by what he played.

I definitly think it will be released in 2021 for the Halo: CE Anniversary (as hinted by Bonnie Ross on Twitter) and by the way for the OG Xbox anniversary.

As we look ahead to our launch this Fall, what is the Sandbox Team currently focused on? Can you speak briefly about the team's remaining work and priorities over the coming weeks and months?

QD: Sandbox is super busy. We have everyone fixing bugs on our launch content and some exciting efforts kicking off for future updates – like new vehicles, equipment, etc. But we're pretty much playtesting a ton and looking for ways to polish and improve everything. All of our launch content is in-game and being played daily but it takes a strong effort to get something from 90% to a full 100% ship quality. So, we are pushing hard to squash bugs and tune our toys so they are in a good spot as we get closer and closer to launch (and public flighting before that). Additionally, we are taking time to evaluate the visuals of certain sandbox items with the goal of ensuring everything is landing the way the art directors envisioned. As a result, some sandbox items we've previously shown might be getting a facelift here and there by the time you see them again.

INSIDE INFINITE – JANUARY 2021

<p>Hey everyone – ske7ch here wishing you a belated Happy New Year and welcoming you to the first “Inside Infinite” of 2021! Before we dive in, I want to take a moment to share our plans for the next few months and our commitment to our community. Following last month’s update, the start of the...

www.halowaypoint.com

zma1013 · Jan 30, 2021

It will probably release in 2021. We all know a game doesn't have to be finished to be released.

DeoGame · Jan 30, 2021

DukeNukum said:
This. If they truly want this to be a platform for years to come then they need strong creatives and leadership. Launching the game is only the beginning.

Agreed. And Staten's vision of the future may not be the same as Lee's. Staten seems to like the campaign but, let's say hypothetically, the OG ending of Infinite killed off the pilot and Staten loves the pilot and most of the team does too and they want to do more with him, they need time to rewrite, rerecord and change. Now, that isn't a major reboot in development level change but it is the sort of thing the extra year can account for.

Ultimately, I do think it comes out this year, and I think it coming in Fall shows that for me. Idk though.

Kuro · Jan 30, 2021

I wasn't even aware this was a notion people had until this thread. I could maybe see the campaign getting delayed but no way MP doesn't make 2021.

Rndom Grenadez · Jan 30, 2021

VDenter said:
343 hasn't exactly given a solid reason for anyone to be optimistic? Their history with this franchise speaks volumes.

Developing one of the best, if not the best campaign in Halo 4 and developing one of the best, if not the best, multiplayer in Halo 5?

Halo fans have the most rose colored glasses of all.

ToadPacShakur said:
lemme stop you right there

KindaFunny is not the place to go for any competent xbox/PC news and opinions lol maybe their new show with Witta and SBM but that's IT

Agreed. I watch the show, but every single one of them is a blatant Sony fanboy. I don't think they try to hide it.

Roliq · Jan 30, 2021

People really want to be pessimistic

Ultima_5 · Jan 30, 2021

I'm not sure why that's that outlandish. Who would've assumed that the game would be delayed a year after console launch? Wouldn't be surprised if it's 2022

supercommodore · Jan 30, 2021

No way the multiplayer is delayed out of this year.

Iron Eddie · Jan 30, 2021

What some are now considering is maybe part of the game will come out this year. Multiplayer only or campaign only. What they could also do is make the campaign episodic and release the multiplayer with it. Games as a service is still very much a popular thing and this would also help Game Pass.

Windu · Jan 30, 2021

Covid seems like a logical answer.

Scottoest · Jan 30, 2021

Catastrophizing about Xbox and Halo is an easy target, and a motivated target for console loyalists. Craig and the generally underwhelming visuals of the July demo gave them fertile ground to take the ball and run with it. There's been non-specific rumours about development issues, and a few key departures in the past year. Plus there's a certain demographic within the Halo community that always assumes the worst. And COVID.

Ultimately, who cares? I personally think there's a 0% chance it slips fall 2021 based on what I've read, but if it needs to, then so be it. As long as the final product is what it needs to be, I couldn't care less when the peanut gallery thinks it's coming out.

It's a bunch of people making guesses at stuff. More power to them.

FUNKNOWN iXi said:
They do have a history of development hell, actually. Halo 4 had a troubled development, TMCC is obvious, and Halo 5 had a troubled development too.

H4 launched without some key features, the important terminal cutscenes needed to be watched in an outside app because they couldn't work them in on time, etc. etc. etc., Halo 5 launched barebones without a lot of multiplayer features too. TMCC was a distaster at launch.

I don't think we need to get more into specifics. These tales have been told, and they were loud lol.

Troubled development isn't quite the same as a project lingering in dev hell for years. Those games were released on the typical 3 year cadence. H4 and H5 launched "missing" stuff (believe me I remember), but they made their date. They didn't slip for year after year. If anything they're examples of 343 doing what it needed to do to explicitly make ship dates. Bungie's Halo games also had well chronicled "troubled" development.

Halo Infinite will have been in development for twice that time by fall 2021.

I'll give you the MCC, LOL.

Reading their January news update for Infinite, and Staten's blog from December, and you get the picture of a game that is basically content complete - but is refining their graphics pipeline in response to criticism, taking time to polish things, and just wasn't quite ready for November. I suspect the year delay is because a) Microsoft wants the game to come out in the fall, and b) to ensure ample time so there's no more delays and expensively/abruptly aborted marketing plans.

The Last One · Jan 30, 2021

It's an unusual year. Delays will happen across the board.

ThatOneGuy · Jan 30, 2021

I mean it was delayed an entire year already, slipping further into next year wouldn't be that insane. Especially with covid not ending any time soon.

EggmaniMN · Jan 30, 2021

Because we're in a pandemic, who knows what they'll end up changing and maybe they have plenty of games to fill in Fall anyway.

Lashley · Jan 30, 2021

COVID most likely

Smokey · Jan 30, 2021

Kinda Funny isn't a place you should expect to see reasonable discussion on Xbox.

I wouldn't expect it to be delayed (again). Moving it out of the launch window was a huge PR hit to the Series X|S, even though it appears they system(s) are still doing quite well without it. I cannot see them green lighting another delay unless there truly are significant issues, but the game is content complete at this point.

COVID is the obvious wildcard though.

BrightLightLava · Jan 30, 2021

Rndom Grenadez said:
Developing one of the best, if not the best campaign in Halo 4 and developing one of the best, if not the best, multiplayer in Halo 5?

I've replayed all of them over the last couple weeks, and I do think 4 is underrated, but it's held back by the Promethians being miserable to fight.I can't decide if the dogs or the watchers that sprint away the second you start shooting then are worse.

They improved on that combat a lot in 5, and I love the movement changes, but the story felt to me like pieces were missing. Blue Team disappears for a while, and you never really get a sense of who the other Spartan 2s or any member of Osiris are and how they feel about everything going on. I know there are books and the miniseries that introduced Locke, and I've read some of them but more of that needed to be in the game.

Rndom Grenadez · Jan 30, 2021

BrightLightLava said:
I've replayed all of them over the last couple weeks, and I do think 4 is underrated, but it's held back by the Promethians being miserable to fight.I can't decide if the dogs or the watchers that sprint away the second you start shooting then are worse.

They improved on that combat a lot in 5, and I love the movement changes, but the story felt to me like pieces were missing. Blue Team disappears for a while, and you never really get a sense of who the other Spartan 2s or any member of Osiris are and how they feel about everything going on.

yeah I'm not a fan of 5's campaign. But I think most aren't. Locke didn't feel like he had earned his place. It also kinda was unrealistic that he could stand toe to toe with chief.

Legit the biggest problem in 4's campaign was that the Promethians knights were bullet sponges on legendary.

JINX · Jan 30, 2021

People are creating this worst case scenario in their heads based on little, while going "343 have never made a good game, it must be bad and Staten is going to start from scratch..." It's silly, 343's games have all reviewed well and are good games. They may not hit the heights of the previous entries and be uneven, but they clearly have shown a lot of talent. I think reality is starting to show the most sensible prediction is the right one, the game just wasn't ready yet and had fallen behind schedule so MS installed Staten to make sure it gets across the finishing line. Building an engine, growing the studio, trying a bunch of new ideas, pivoting of Halo 5's reception and making a massive live game must be challenging. I can understand people thinking it might get a 1 or 2 month delay like you often see (especially with Covid.) But I'm expecting the same game we saw last year with better graphics, more polish and shipping finished.

ghostcrew · Jan 30, 2021

It might happen? Any game could slip, especially this year. But I probably wouldn't bet specifically on the one that was supposed to already be out, is essentially content complete (I think?) and is having a year to polish. Feels like a safer bet than a lot of games.

V has come to · Jan 30, 2021

assume everything is getting delayed

fontguy · Jan 30, 2021

It's had a troubled development, it looked real bad when they showed it off, and it was delayed before the pandemic totally exploded.

TradedHats · Jan 30, 2021

DanteSparda504 said:
Because people like to think it's in development hell because people want to think there's issues with 343, when it's basically a complete game now and just being refined and polished in response to people whining about the graphics.

Scottoest · Jan 30, 2021

fontguy said:
It's had a troubled development, it looked real bad when they showed it off, and it was delayed before the pandemic totally exploded.

It was delayed in August, when the pandemic had been going on for about five months, and 343 had been working from home since February.

Snake__ · Jan 30, 2021

I expect it to come out in 2021, I just expect it to be really bad since Halo 5 is one of the worst FPS games I've ever played

iverdawg said:

that was before the game got a full year delay, well I guess it was a result of the delay, which was later revealed to be a full year delay

after already getting a full year delay, it would probably get cancelled if anything

CaviarMeths · Jan 30, 2021

Wishful thinking. Halo coming out this year would be devastating for people who engage in list wars.

Theorry · Jan 30, 2021

VDenter said:
343 hasn't exactly given a solid reason for anyone to be optimistic? Their history with this franchise speaks volumes.

This doesnt make sense release date wise.

TradedHats · Jan 30, 2021

Snake__ said:
that was before the game got a full year delay, well I guess it was a result of the delay, which was later revealed to be a full year delay

Yes, but they're saying people "want to think that there's issues" when apparently there have been issues, even if that was before the delay.

TheGhost · Jan 30, 2021

I would take what kinda funny says with a grain of salt and they will probably put out the PvP first.

Betty · Jan 30, 2021

1. Already had a giant delay
2. COVID will slow development
3. It has no concrete release date

Bradbatross · Jan 30, 2021

They're giving regular detailed updates already, so it really doesn't make a lot of sense to think it's getting delayed again. If they were still being quiet maybe I'd be a little worried.

Mr.Deadshot · Jan 30, 2021

Walken said:
What some are now considering is maybe part of the game will come out this year. Multiplayer only or campaign only. What they could also do is make the campaign episodic and release the multiplayer with it. Games as a service is still very much a popular thing and this would also help Game Pass.

That would go down so well ... and certainly set the right signal for people concerned about the impact of Gamepass on game development. I don't think they will do something like that if they care about their reputation. A delay to 2022 would actually be more wise.

Snake__ · Jan 30, 2021

iverdawg said:
Yes, but they're saying people "want to think that there's issues" when apparently there have been issues, even if that was before the delay.

I'm just saying a full year delay is already really extreme
They cant just keep throwing millions at a bad Halo game hoping it will magically get good

I would hope that 343 needed like 6 months and they just gave them a year to be safe and give it another holiday release

Raide · Jan 30, 2021

Part of me really wants a delay, since this year is going to be Halo, CoD and BF again. Too many shooters!

Why do People Keep Thinking Halo Infinite is Gonna Be Delayed To 2022?

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