343 Industries hits back at Halo Infinite delay rumours
Let's be honest, the road to Halo Infinite hasn't been an easy one. 343 Industries' long-running franchise was supposed to be a flagship title for the Xbox Series X, however, a slew of delays and rumours of troubles inside the company have led to its fair share of bad press.
If that wasn't enough, a pretty underwhelming Xbox Games Showcase and creation of the "Craig" meme have left 343 looking red in the face. Although the community team has tried to remain positive through all the drama, community director Brian Jarrard has clapped back at the latest round of scandalous headlines.
For those who haven't read it yet, Brad Sams' Thurrot piece put 343 firmly in its crosshairs and claimed Infinite's delays are to do with inner politics. Alongside this, Sams was candid about what went on behind closed doors, blaming too much outsourcing and creative director Tim Longo abandoning ship in August 2019 for Infinite's tumultuous development.
The crux of the matter is swirling reports that Halo Infinite's multiplayer was supposed to launch alongside the single-player campaign - something 343 has repeatedly denied.
Click to enlargeDespite saying he wouldn't entertain "this kind of stuff", the fact Jarrard was "partially implicated" in these claims forced him to break his silence. Responding on the Halo subreddit, Jarrard raged, "I'm going to address the part where he claims Phil Spencer validated his prior reporting even though I (343) denied it. The 'reporting' at the time said, 'MP would not be shipping with single player this Fall.' For a hot minute it was creating a storm on social until I chimed in to debunk it.
"The tweet that made that claim was then deleted. Phil Spencer went on 'Animal Talking' recently and while discussing the Infinite shift to 2021, did mention that separating MP and Campaign was briefly considered before the decision was made to shift it all to next year. These are not the same things. At all".
Click to enlargeSams wasn't the only one who felt the wrath of 343, though. When the piece blamed the development of the Halo TV series for the game's delay, a 343 spokesperson wanted to put the rumours firmly to bed. Separate to Jarrard's response, IGN was told, "343 Industries has a devoted transmedia team that is working with Showtime on the creation and production of the Halo TV show. This group is separate from the Halo Infinite development team. These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another".
Interestingly, the spokesperson wouldn't clarify whether reports of massive outsourcing was behind Halo Infinite's delay. Following the Xbox Games Showcase, 343 decided it would push Halo Infinite back to 2021, meaning it will miss all the fanfare of the Xbox Series X's launch. Still, Jarrard and the rest are hard at work and promise the next chapter in the Halo legacy will be worth the wait. Is this really the case?. Only time will tell.
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Images via 343 Industries