343 Industries head of creative Joseph Staten has been conducting a few interviews over the past week following the launch of Halo Infinite's multiplayer, and he's spoken a bit more about the decision to delay the game in 2020.
As you may well recall, Halo Infinite was originally intended to release alongside the Xbox Series X and S in November 2020, but ended up being pushed all the way back to December 8th, 2021. In an interview with IGN, Staten explained that there had been "huge pressure" to stick to that original release date:
"[There was] a huge amount of pressure to stay the course. I think a really wonderful example of Xbox leadership doing the right thing for our fans, doing the right thing [...] for players, even though it hurt them, even though there were costs associated with that. It was 100% a player-first decision, and I'm so proud of the studio and Xbox for making that decision."
In a separate interview with Eurogamer last week, Staten advised that the extra time allowed the team to hone in on "elements where more work could be done to make them even more impactful", such as improving the way Marines pathfind in the game ("a ton of work"), spending more time on boss fights and much, much more.
"There are many other examples I could provide, not the least of which being to make sure the game ran great on whatever platform you have. We just committed ourselves to a set of principles, and then a good handful of these epic tasks, and then went after them for campaign and multiplayer."
It seems to have all worked out for the best, and now we're just a few short weeks away from the official release of Halo Infinite's campaign mode, while the multiplayer launched in Beta back on November 15th. When you look at how the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 launched last year, the delay looks like it was a very, very wise decision.
What are your thoughts on the decision to delay Halo Infinite by a year? Let us know down below.
[source ign.com, via eurogamer.net]
Comments (14)
While I am loving halo infinite I do agree the battle pass could be better…I paid for it and the fact not award for completing game objectives/wins is underwhelming….it would be the perfect way to add incentive then just a 50 xp daily match.
It was the right decision to delay the game.
An even better decision?
STOP announcing games or showing trailers until the game is DEFINITELY going gold in 6 months or less. Simple rule to follow. Game's hype will be better and stronger, less fans will gripe, pre-orders will be better.
The ENTIRE overall experience be heck lot better.
@GuyinPA75 I agree, with the amount of developers under the microsoft banner now I believe Microsoft could at least pull it off. Though I wonder where those cinematic trailers would fit in though seeing as how they're apparently used for recruiting folks?
@GuyinPA75 I agree with you. Cause you’re right, however consider this. Sony showed off games for PS4 years before there release to get gamers excited about what was coming. If Microsoft doesn’t do that , they run the risk of hearing Xbox has no games and loses momentum to fans and internet sites to promote these games that are down the line. It’s a fine line of marketing and not falling behind in game announcements, but to your point it’s to early and these games can slip into delays.
@Rural-Bandit It's not even entirely just that. Game trailers are shown years out largely to hire staff to actually build the game. If they don't show these trailers and officially announce recruiting becomes nightmarish. You are trying to hire developers for a studio and they don't even know what the game is without signing an NDA, then you start having all these leaks hit the internet about such and such is making this and the rumors start swirling. Even games like Spiderman 2 and Wolverine have been announced years out in part because Insomniac is certainly looking to recruit even more staff. Same as Playground with Fable. Games get built by people and it's easier to find the right people when the potential employee is excited about the project and wants to apply. In a huge sense it's promoting the game to developers, not necessarily buyers.
Delays are absolutely fine, shows the developer cares about its own product and more importantly its fans
@GuyinPA75 while I agree with you in spirit there are several different reasons to make trailers and they are not just for the fans.
But I agree is is annoying to have a trailer for something that isn’t coming for years and years. Hellblade 2, Avowed, Fable, Elder Scrolls VI have all done this recently for Xbox + Bethesda.
@themightyant a classic example is the Black Myth: Wukong game that was revealed over a year ago. The whole purpose was to attract developers and investors to get the game made to the standard and quality they were hoping to get to.
It was meant for the 'gamers' to get all hyped and add their own demands, expectations and pressure on the developers to release the game ASAP.
E3 used to be for the 'industry' to pitch ideas, try and get investors and/or developers to join them etc. It was never for the consumers. There is still that 'legacy' in the industry too although you'd have to say that things have 'changed' a lot over the last generation and I'm sure that the last few years have really messed up plans.
Halo was first announced in 2018, for release in 2020 but delayed a year and I bet games like Hellblade II and Avowed were probably expected to release by now if not for pandemic working conditions. Fable & Perfect Dark could well of been more about 'recruitment' - after all, The Initiative are now partnering with Crystal Dynamics.
Ideally, I'd prefer a '6month' max schedule from initial reveal to release - but that's in an 'ideal' world. With the internet, its got to be quite difficult to keep a game a big studio been working on for 3+ years completely secret without any 'leaks' getting out...
I don't mind a delay in general, what I do object to though is Publishers putting a date (or even a 'window') for release and then getting a delay. If Publishers only confirm a date when they are extremely confident that they can meet that date, its far less of an issue.
For example, people may book a holiday to play Starfield on 11.11.22, plan around that date and would rightly be annoyed if it got delayed. If no date is public, then delays don't need to be public. If they do make it public, its not as if we were 'expecting' it, made specific plans for that day etc - it doesn't hit as hard...
@BAMozzy Indeed, a lot of games do this.
I agree on Halo being delayed, that was definitely meant to launch last year but I'm not convinced at all by Hellblade 2 and Avowed.
Hellblade 2 was always announced as an Unreal Engine 5 game, and while there is a currently a beta for that engine it doesn't actually release till 2022. Additionally over a year after the announcement trailer they had dev diaries showing scouting locations for inspiration. None of this suggests the game was meant to come out by now.
Avowed is similar, Jez Corden and others with friends on the inside all suggested it was early in development after the announcement. Was never on the cards for 2021 as far as I understand.
Most of these and Perfect Dark, Fable etc. while they could have been recruitment too, were also the third type we haven't discussed - which is platform holders showing that they have games coming to foster excitement for new hardware. Which usually means trailers being shown despite most games being a long way off.
To be fair to devs it's got to be difficult, they probably don't want to show them too early either but marketing and higher ups need SOMETHING to sell the new hardware and will go around all the studios asking for something!
Couldn't agree more on dates. Starfield announced specifically for 11-11-2022 over a year in advance is a joke, especially considering the last two years! Who knows what's round the corner. Although word on the street is that Bethesda Game Studios, after a string of lukewarm titles and a few failures really want to make sure this is both a hit and more polished than they are known for. Apparently they could launch earlier but want to spend the extra time getting it right to help fix their battered reputation. Hence being confident on the date. But time will tell!
@SplooshDmg excellent point buddy , yeah that makes all kinds of sense. I don’t mind the early announcements as much as i do setting a release date out of fear to delay it, due to money or pressure to have AAA holiday titles. In the end games like Battlefield and Diablo 2 remake would have been games i would have bought but with the fouled up launches i stayed away. I think the Halo multiplayer beta has been as good of a multiplayer launch as I’ve seen in years. Granted I’ve scaled back on playing this genre as much as i have in consoles pasted. But im having a blast on infinite online and think it will only get better. Happy to see it pushed back even tho it would have made Series X launch amazing.
@Rural-Bandit Yeah, I definitely don't see the point of setting hard release dates so far out. But I don't mind the whole CGI trailer thing three years prior. In a perfect world we wouldn't need those, but we just kinda need those. Diablo II was probably the last straw for me with Blizzard, and Battlefield is just... Wow. I get that people aren't happy with Halos progression system. But at least the game is fun and actually works. Compared to the competition right now, fun and actually working seem to be a monolithic feat. So I'm not gonna go too hard on 343i. Lol
@SplooshDmg you said it brother. Battlefield is a mess, Call of Duty is just a reskin of a boring game at this point and Halo while yes is taking a few jabs for the progression system, is just amazing and 343 knocked it out of the park returning Halo to it early year roots, while still making it feel fresh and their ideas are on it. Yeah Diablo 2 is a sad story for me, I’m a huge fan of the series and cant wait for part 4 , but this was handled poorly and that’s being fair I think. As long as Gears 6 , Fable and Perfect Dark are home run hits, series x is looking out if this world good. I think 2022 is going to be a great year for Xbox and x cloud. Then there’s Starfield and that could be a juggernaut exclusive.
@Rural-Bandit Yep. I definitely don't think the Halo progression is good, but it's also not bad enough that it's spoiling what's an otherwise highly enjoyable game. I'm sitting at rank 13 and I just got my Yoroi core, so I'm not mad. If I don't get much XP in a match, I still had fun playing either way. I haven't fooled with BF yet, I played beta and I was worried, and it seems I was worried for good reason. Which is really a shame.
I'm seriously hoping by some miracle D4 doesn't blow, but my hopes are at an all time low. WoW is utterly horrid at the moment. D2 is a mess. Warcraft 3 was an irredeemable mess. It's very concerning.
Xbox Game Studios seem to pretty much have it together at this point. This year started kinda slow but seems to be going out with a bang. So I'm looking forward to learning more about the quieter projects too, but Starfield is about as huge an exclusive as you get. I'm a Bethesda die hard, so there's really no single game I'm waiting for more than that one.
Wow that’s awesome to hear your so excited for Bethesda’s Star field , I think it’s going to be special, sure hope Diablo 4 is their best work as of late cause I agree with you. It’s not been good lately from them. Which is strange , they have talent at that studio.
Agreed about halo, it’s just to fun at this point to complain. After they take a break and get back to work on it, I’m sure many great updates will hit, making it even that much better. If this is just the beginning we are in for a treat. I stayed away from battlefield, that and COD just don’t have my interest. Not sure what they would have to do to get my attention away from Halo and Gears. Those take up all my multiplayer time. Happy thanksgiving buddy , I hope you and the family have a great holiday.
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