Xbox head on ‘Halo Infinite’ delay: “It’s disappointing to us”

An idea was thrown around to release ‘Halo Infinite’ in parts

Xbox head Phil Spencer has spoken about the Halo Infinite delay and how the team considered splitting the game into sections.

Spencer attended a virtual interview with video game journalist Gary Whitta on the Animal Crossing chat show Animal Talking. During the lengthy conversation, Spencer revealed how Xbox felt about the Halo Infinite delay, which was announced earlier this week (August 11).

“Let me start just by recognising the fans and the fact that is is a bummer,” Spencer acknowledged. “I know it’s disappointing to people, it’s disappointing to us (Xbox). We were looking forward to the alignment of Halo Infinite and the Xbox Series X.”

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Xbox recognised that “everybody was going to be disappointed,” Spencer revealed, and added that the “long-term goal is to deliver the best Halo game we’ve ever delivered.”

Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite. Credit: 343 Industries

Spencer also detailed how ideas were thrown around between 343 Industries founder, Bonnie Ross, and head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, about splitting Halo Infinite up into individual parts.

Ultimately, the proposal was scrapped as according to Spencer it didn’t “feel like the Halo release that we would want.”

The game was intended to mark the release of the upcoming Xbox Series X, until 343 Industries announced that the title was being delayed until 2021.

Studio head Chris Lee announced to fans worldwide that Halo Infinite would not be hitting shelves this year. Lee later went on to say that there were multiple reasons behind the decision, the on-going coronavirus pandemic being one of them.

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Lee finished the message by promising that “the extra time will let us finish the critical work necessary to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever at the quality we know our fans expect.”

Over the past few weeks, Halo Infinite has received a large amount of critical backlash over the game’s graphical fidelity.

A gameplay demonstration was aired during the Xbox Games Showcase last month (July), which resulted in fans and critics commenting on the game’s lack of visual polish. 343 Industries later responded to the feedback in an extended post which stated that “aspects of the feedback have brought new opportunities and considerations to light.”

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