What Halo Infinite's Delay Means for the Xbox Series X Launch
At first, it seemed like Xbox had so much momentum moving into the next generation of console gaming. PlayStation's silence up until earlier this year was becoming deafening, while Microsoft had already unveiled the Xbox Series X at The Game Awards in 2019. All of the good faith changes with Game Pass and Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer seemed to put Xbox in a prime spot for this generation. Now with Halo Infinite's delay, the Xbox Series X takes a massive hit to its forward momentum.
Regardless, Microsoft has confirmed an official November launch window for Xbox Series X, despite Halo Infinite coming out in 2021. As much as things like Game Pass and backwards compatibility can carry Xbox Series X, this is a huge blow for Microsoft's launch. Halo was aiming to be the definitive first-party title to play on Xbox Series X this holiday, and while it's just one game, this delay affects a number of different factors weighing on the Xbox Series X's launch success.
It is worth noting that this delay will theoretically be good for Halo Infinite itself, despite the extra crunch time that will be required to make the game ready for release. When Halo Infinite was initially unveiled, there was arguably unwarranted controversy over the graphical appearance of the game. Fans sounded off on social media and forums pointing out the differences in quality between Infinite and other Halo games, even making a meme out of the brute affectionately referred to as "Craig." It's unlikely this was any reason as to why the game was delayed, but it certainly doesn't help given the situation.
That being said, 343 Industries (like many other studios developing games in the recent year) cited complications with the pandemic and working from home as one of the main reasons for delay. Other than the story, one of the defining aspects of Halo is its satisfying and refined gunplay. Anything that compromises how a Halo game plays dooms the game from succeeding. Halo Infinite is perhaps the biggest and most ambitious project for 343 Industries since it took over the helm of the Halo franchise from Bungie. Considering this, if development problems necessitates a delay, then it has to be done. Halo Infinite should be better for it, despite the toll it takes on the studio.
With Halo Infinite delayed indefinitely into 2021, the Xbox Series X takes a huge blow. Halo was meant to be the signature first-party title to launch alongside Microsoft's next console, but without it, there's really not many exclusive launch games coming this fall for Xbox Series X.
Granted, there are several exciting first-party Xbox games coming in the near-future (like Obsidian's Avowed, Playground Games' Forza Motorsport 8 and Fable, or Ninja Theory's Hellblade 2), but several of these titles are slated for 2021-2o22 release windows. Microsoft will be banking on its third-party games, services like xCloud and Game Pass, and the hardware capability of Xbox Series X to have a successful launch this November. Who's to say it will be enough compared to the PS5, which not only has similarly capable hardware and similar third-party games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, but also has big first-party games coming on launch.
Even if the difference in quantity/quality of games is small, the consumer perception of Xbox Series X is much weaker now. As much as the next Xbox can stand on its own, the truth is the brand is still heavily associated with Halo. Xbox's flagship shooter has been a hallmark of the brand since the beginning, and without a signature exclusive draw on Xbox Series X's launch, Microsoft doesn't have an impactful advantage over PlayStation. Xbox's many consumer-friendly efforts like Game Pass, despite how good they may be, may not be enough this holiday.
While the PS5 doesn't have the same overwhelming momentum as it did last generation, Sony's "games first" marketing approach hasn't changed and is all the better for it. The PS5 is even launching this holiday with Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a heavy-hitting first party exclusive that helped define the PS4's massive success later on in the generation. Like any new console generation, both consoles don't have a huge amount of new games coming out on launch day, but Halo Infinite was Xbox's advantage. The unfortunate truth is that losing Halo as a launch title still hurts Microsoft, especially after the fan response to Halo 5: Guardians tainting the franchise on Xbox One. While there's plenty of promising games in the far future of Xbox Series X, for now there may not be much reason to pick up the new console this holiday.
Xbox Series X is set to launch in November 2020.
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