After some leaks surfaced suggesting that the already delayed Halo Infinite may have suffered additional setbacks that could push it all the way into 2022 and perhaps drop Xbox One support completely, the Halo fanbase was rightly nervous about the development of the beloved franchise.
Just a couple of short weeks ago, the news that Halo Infinite will be launching in 2021 wouldn't have been comforting to fans who expected Master Chief to arrive alongside the Xbox Series X in November. But here we are and the confirmation from 343 Industries that development is still on its recently revised schedule is better than the alternative (via TechRadar).
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The confirmation comes courtesy of John Junyszek, Halo Community Manager at 343 Industries, in response to a tweet from Eric Wrona (a.k.a Snip3down), a professional Apex Legends and Halo player.
Hey Eric - we're seeing lots of fake "leaks" out there, so please don't believe everything you read. There are no plans to change our 2021 release or the devices and platforms we'll be supporting. We're building Halo Infinite to be the best it can be on each device/platform 👊August 25, 2020
Junyszek not only shuts down the notion that the game will slip from a 2021 release date but also reaffirms that there have been no changes to the planned platform releases, which means it will also be coming to Xbox One.
While it is good to see 343 quickly shutting this rumor down, we are still without an actual timeline for the release of Halo Infinite beyond "sometime in 2021." Saying that 2022 is out of the question doesn't preclude the release being a full year after the Xbox Series X hits shelves, which is a long wait for what is almost unquestionably the most important game in Microsoft's next-gen arsenal.
With that said, given the graphical concerns after the game's appearance at the Xbox Series X July games showcase and the news that had it actually launched alongside the Xbox Series X that it would have been a two-part release, it certainly sounds like the team could use every bit of 2021 to deliver a game that can live up to everyone's soaring expectations.
