Xbox boss Phil Spencer comments on Halo Infinite delay: “I’ll apologise to the fans"


In a piece of news that completely rewrote our expectations for the Xbox Series X launch lineup, we recently learned that Halo Infinite has been delayed until next year.

And now, we've learned that Xbox boss Phil Spencer even considered splitting the game into chunks before deciding to push it back to 2021. He explained as much during an interview on Gary Whitta's Animal Talking show, where he also commented on the delay and apologised to fans.

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Keep reading to find out exactly what Microsoft's Phil Spencer said about the situation, which has seen his biggest Xbox game for 2020 pushed away from the impending console launch...

Phil Spencer comments on Halo Infinite delay

“Let me start just by recognising the fans and the fact that is is a bummer,” Spencer said in the interview (as quoted by Stevivor).

He added: “It is disappointing to people, it’s disappointing to us. We were looking forward to the alignment of Halo Infinite and the Xbox Series X.”

Indeed, despite the fact that some fans were concerned about the state of the Halo Infinite graphics in the latest Xbox Series X live stream, to hear that the game has actually been pushed back was still a somewhat sad piece of news for eager fans of the franchise.

Spencer also said this, addressin the fans directly: “I’ll apologise to the fans, because I never like to set up expectations and then not hit them, but I also believe we’re making the right decision, in the long run, for both Xbox and Halo and our customers.”

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Halo Infinite could've been released in chapters

As VG247 has reported, Spencer also revealed during the interview that discussions were had about cutting the game into chunks. Presumably, this idea was raised to see if a segment of Halo Infinite could be made available on day one for Xbox Series X.

This idea, ultimately, did not press ahead. As Spencer explained, “It just didn’t feel, to all of us, like the Halo release that we would want”.

Having consulted with the biggest Halo fan I know, it seems to me like Spencer and 343 Industries made a wise choice here. Although having the campaign before the multiplayer is stomach-able, only having one mission to play at launch could've been a frustrating experience.

This way, when it finally arrives, Halo Infinite will be the polished experience that fans want and the Xbox Series X deserves. And let's not forget that it will also run on Xbox One, PC and the xCloud streaming platform.

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