Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent
Halo Infinite, the biggest Xbox exclusive, has been pushed back to 2021. The product is going to be improved and corrected. Thurrott journalist Brad Sams spoke about the development of the game and the difficulties. Let’s highlight the main points:
- 343 Industries began development in 2015. The game was called Halo 6, and a new Slipspace engine was being developed, which laid the foundations for creating a starter version for the new console. Naturally, the specs of the Xbox Series X weren’t known.
- Problems arose with E3 2019. Part of the game is transferred to third-party contractors, but there were nuances with coordination.
- The trailer shown in 2019 was probably created by third-party teams, so it looked very different. The words “frames on the game engine” mean little.
- The developers had internal disagreements due to which creative director Tim Longo and soon Mary Olsen left. The creators talk about contradictions when creating.
- In late 2019 and early 2020, it was decided to split the game into parts: a campaign and a multiplayer mode.
- Developers and marketers were like “on different planets”. The former were asked not to rush, while the latter were releasing materials. A striking example is the message about free multiplayer and 120 fps. The management at that time knew that the game would be postponed.
There are a lot of problems: creating a new engine, hiring third-party teams, poor consistency, staff turnover, initial high and then low quality of trailers, the coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Halo Infinite and wanted a decent product at the launch of the Xbox Series X in order to hit with a strong exclusive. But this will not happen and the console will be released without the most powerful support.
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