It's been almost five years since the last main-series Halo game, Halo Steam's top-selling game for a time in December.
Originally revealed at E3 2018, Halo Infinite appears to be attempting to return to the franchise's roots. Halo Infinite could be a live-service game. While unconfirmed as of yet, this would allow for a potentially infinite influx of new content, which could be the origin of the game's name.
What's also seemed infinite is the long wait for Halo's next big game. Speaking to Halo Infinite is a "spiritual" reboot of sorts, which likely meant the team needed to commit extra time to getting the game's story right.
343 Industries' Kiki Wolfkill, the developer's head of transmedia and entertainment, later elaborated on this in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. According to Wolfkill, the goal is begin the next generation of Halo games by making a story anyone can jump into, even if they've never played a Halo game before. This means that, while it will still be a direct sequel to Halo 5, Halo Infinite is meant to rediscover what a Halo game is, 19 years after the original game launched.
Unfortunately, it's possible that fans will have to wait even longer than expected for Halo Infinite. Just a few months after the game's holiday 2020 release date was announced, Halo Infinite's lead producer left. A Halo community manager then told fans there was "no creative dilemma" in the studio and "no writing on the walls," but it's difficult to believe such important leadership's departure so close to Halo Infinite's intended release window isn't cause for concern. In a year as full of big game delays as 2020 is so far, it wouldn't be surprising for Microsoft to announce a Halo Infinite delay.
Halo Infinite is set to release in holiday 2020 alongside the Xbox Series X.
