Man, I didn't think Microsoft had the guts to delay Halo in 2021.
Because everyone will focus on the bad (which I will a little later on), I just want to point something out here that Theorry also brought up: there is NO way that the Microsoft of old would have delayed Halo. I think that shows how far Microsoft has come. Not only that, I think it shows the confidence they have in their vision (Game Pass) moving forward. We all know that Halo is the reason that Xbox is still here nearly 20 years later, they are absolutely synonymous with one another. If the success of Series X and Series S were heavily hinging on having Halo at launch then Microsoft would have launched regardless of what shape it was in. Xbox in 2020 is very different than Xbox from years past. The success of Xbox isn't dependent on Halo, it's dependent on Game Pass, and Game Pass is very healthy in subscribers at the moment. Would having Halo launch this November with Game Pass and Series X /S help? Absolutely. Halo obviously needs more time in the oven, whether that it's from coronavirus, behind the scenes issues, or both.
Now for the bad. How bad of shape is Halo in? I wasn't confident after it's showing back in July. Phil Spencer has been saying for a while now how he wanted to launch Series X/S with Halo Infinite. Nobody could have foreseen coronavirus having the impact it has, but I do believe we are seeing the massive drawbacks to arranging an entire console launch to one flagship title. Xbox has drawn the ire of lack of first-party for several years and it has absolutely opened itself up to become another punching bag this holiday and it's once again not unearned. What I am really hoping for is that Halo does not become another Crackdown 3. Crackdown 3 was supposed to launch in November of 2017 and didn't actually ship until February 2019.
With Xbox delaying Halo Infinite and openly showing that they're going to launch their consoles this holiday without a first-party title, they absolutely have to take their time to ship Halo Infinite. I no longer care when it comes and I openly think we aren't going to see it until Fall 2021.
Because everyone will focus on the bad (which I will a little later on), I just want to point something out here that Theorry also brought up: there is NO way that the Microsoft of old would have delayed Halo. I think that shows how far Microsoft has come. Not only that, I think it shows the confidence they have in their vision (Game Pass) moving forward. We all know that Halo is the reason that Xbox is still here nearly 20 years later, they are absolutely synonymous with one another. If the success of Series X and Series S were heavily hinging on having Halo at launch then Microsoft would have launched regardless of what shape it was in. Xbox in 2020 is very different than Xbox from years past. The success of Xbox isn't dependent on Halo, it's dependent on Game Pass, and Game Pass is very healthy in subscribers at the moment. Would having Halo launch this November with Game Pass and Series X /S help? Absolutely. Halo obviously needs more time in the oven, whether that it's from coronavirus, behind the scenes issues, or both.
Now for the bad. How bad of shape is Halo in? I wasn't confident after it's showing back in July. Phil Spencer has been saying for a while now how he wanted to launch Series X/S with Halo Infinite. Nobody could have foreseen coronavirus having the impact it has, but I do believe we are seeing the massive drawbacks to arranging an entire console launch to one flagship title. Xbox has drawn the ire of lack of first-party for several years and it has absolutely opened itself up to become another punching bag this holiday and it's once again not unearned. What I am really hoping for is that Halo does not become another Crackdown 3. Crackdown 3 was supposed to launch in November of 2017 and didn't actually ship until February 2019.
With Xbox delaying Halo Infinite and openly showing that they're going to launch their consoles this holiday without a first-party title, they absolutely have to take their time to ship Halo Infinite. I no longer care when it comes and I openly think we aren't going to see it until Fall 2021.