GoodHalo Infinitenews has been scarce since the game’s messy July 2020 gameplay reveal, which drew so much criticism from fans that it provoked Microsoft to delay the game a full year. Since then, 343 Industries has been understandably quiet as it continues to work on the game. Today, 343 Industries' community manager has confirmed that the developer will be providing monthly development updates onHalo Infinite, starting next week.
The last development update onHalo Infinitecame last month, when 343 Industries revealed the first look at the game’s updated visuals following the backlash it received from the underwhelming visuals featured in the July 2020 gameplay showcase. This update was also accompanied bythe announcement thatHalo Infinitehad been delayeda full year from its planned November 10th, 2020 release date to some time in fall 2021.
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Replying to fans on Reddit, 343 Industries' community manager Brian Jarrard revealed that the studio intends on releasing monthly blog posts titled “Inside Infinite,” in which it will discuss some ofthe ambitions behindHalo Infinitewith the team. According to Jarrard, “To manage expectations, this won’t have world premier big screenshots or huge things like a date announce, but our goal is to offer our community more context and insights into our team and the game we’re making while we’re all awaiting the larger beats and full marketing machine later this year.”
The first installment in this “Inside Infinite” series will feature a discussion with the sandbox team at 343, with Jarrard claiming that they will be sharing elements of the design process behindHalo Infinite’s world.Infiniteis noteworthy for being the first open-worldHalogame ever, borrowing a lot of the design elements from the levels featured in the very firstHalo: Combat Evolved. Coincidentally,Halo Infinite’s release is verylikely to coincide withCombat Evolved’s 20th anniversary, which is in November of this year.
The announcement of these monthlyHalo Infiniteupdates comes as a relief, given that 343 Industries has had a rough history with communicating with its audience, dating back all the way since its work onHalo 4.Halo Infinitehashad a particularly difficult development cycle, being announced all the way back in June 2018 with no gameplay showcased until over two years later. It’s clear that 343’s confidence in showcasing the game has been hit deeply through the criticism it received back in June, so it’s refreshing to see the studio want to maintain transparency and trust with its audience, which will hopefully lead to aHalogame that all fans, both new and old, will enjoy.
As Jarrard mentions in his post though, it is important to mention that theseHalo Infiniteupdates will not include major reveals such as gameplay, story details, multiplayer maps, or a solid release date. The wording of Jarrard’s post makes it clear that details such as these will not come to light until further into 2021 when Microsoft starts to push the game’s marketing,most likely during the second half of the year.
Halo Infinitewill release on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in fall 2021.
