There may not be a more highly-anticipated Xbox release on the horizon than Halo Infinite, the latest chapter in the beloved Halo series. Fans have been waiting since 2015, when Halo 5: Guardians hit shelves, for the latest release in the Master Chief saga, but unfortunately for those hoping to fire up their Xboxes before the calendar turns to 2021 and play the game, they’ll have to wait a little while longer.
In a statement released on Tuesday afternoon, Halo Infinite studio head Chris Lee announced that the COVID-19 pandemic will force the game to be put on the shelves until some time in 2021. No specific release date has been given.
Halo Infinite Development Update pic.twitter.com/TFZvXhRN9f
— Halo (@Halo) August 11, 2020
The game has been development for years, with a trailer hitting Twitter back in 2018. The belief was that the game would drop sometime in the final quarter of 2020 — gameplay was unveiled during a recent Xbox Series X showcase, while news also came out that multiplayer will be free-to-play when it comes out on the Series X. However, as Lee indicated in his statement, it appears that the game needs some final polish before it is made available to games, saying “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.”