This week, Microsoft announced that the Xbox Series X would launch in November and that the console’s flagship launch title, Halo Infinite, had been delayed to 2021.
Microsoft dropped two bombshells on Tuesday afternoon — one rather small and one incredibly large. The small bombshell was confirmation that the Xbox Series X will launch in November, as everyone expected. After all, the Xbox One launched on November 22nd,2013, and the 360 launched on November 22nd,2005. Launching in November gives consumers over a month to pick up the console before Christmas. In all likelihood, Sony will opt to launch the PlayStation 5 in November as well, likely a week before or after the Xbox Series X. The second, much larger bombshell was that Halo Infinite has been delayed to 2021. This is significant for a number of reasons, and could end up having a profound impact on the entire console generation. There are two important points that I need to make before I press on. First of all, most consoles have terrible launch lineups. There are exceptions to this rule — Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and, ironically, Halo: Combat Evolved, to name a few — but most consoles are lucky to launch with one game that stands the test of time. After all, how many of us are still talking about Killzone: Shadow Fall or Ryse: Son of Rome? Great launch titles have little to no effect on the long-term viability or success of a game console. Secondly, if Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries determined that delaying their game was in the best interest of the team working on the game and the fans who will end up paying $60 for it, then it had to be done.
