Microsoft Delays Key Halo Infinite Features Until 2022
Halo Infinite is set to be a pretty big deal. Xbox is in need of a new game from its mascot Master Chief - his last few outings were particularly underwhelming for fans of the franchise, and many worried that the world of Halo would struggle to fight it back.
Despite some claims Infinite is struggling on Xbox One, it's set to bring about some all-important change for the series. With a massive free-to-play multiplayer mode, a huge campaign and word of an upcoming battle royale, the game could easily be a return to form - but that’s thanks in most part to the game’s size. And its size could nearly have been its downfall, as Microsoft had plans to delay the title.
Halo Infinite Was Almost Delayed Until 2022
Click to enlargeIt has been revealed by developers at 343 Industries that another delay for Halo Infinite was considered. The studio hasn’t always been confident in their Holiday 2021 release window, and thought about pushing it back to next year. The news has appeared in a development update video from 343 Industries that was uploaded to their YouTube channel.
Discussing what could've been, Creative Lead Joseph Staten explained, "Yeah, I mean we talked about doing [delaying the game]. But where we landed is that Halo Infinite is a live game, so it isn't ever really "done." It's going to progress and evolve from season to season. We talk about launch being the beginning of that journey, but to have a beginning, you need to pick a moment and actually begin.
Instead, specific featured have been delayed instead of the whole game. "Ultimately, we decided that we've been working on this game for a really long time", said Staten. "Our fans have been waiting on this game for a really long time. With solo campaign and our first season of free-to-play multiplayer in really good shape for holiday, we didn't want to delay anymore. Let's get started and we'll continue to evolve from there."
Halo Infinite’s Campaign Co-Op And Forge Are Coming In 2022
Click to enlargeIn the same YouTube update video, Staten has revealed that the game’s campaign co-op and Forge mode have both been pushed back, and will be released as updates next year.
“As we focused the team for shutdown and really focused on a quality experience for launch, we made the really tough decision to delay shipping campaign co-op for launch”, he says. “And we also made the tough decision to delay shipping Forge past launch as well.”
This news is likely to be frustrating for many fans, as Forge is an iconic part of Halo’s gameplay, but it’s clearly a sacrifice that has to be made in order for the game to make its projected release window.
Staten has offered some idea of when we can expect these features, though - campaign co-op is predicted to arrive as part of season two, and Forge will come later in season three.
It’s a shame that these are features we have to wait for, but if they have to be delayed so that the game can ship on time, so be it. We’re itching to get our hands on Halo Infinite, and we’ll survive without campaign co-op for a couple of months. Maybe.
