'Halo Infinite' on Xbox: Release date, concept, special features and all you need to know about franchise's 'best-looking game ever'

'Halo' family’s new edition, ‘Halo Infinite’, a Microsoft franchise, originally scheduled to launch in November, 2020, has been rescheduled and officially launching in fall, 2021. 343 industries announced it on Tuesday, December 8. The release of ‘Halo Infinite’ originally set alongside the Xbox Series X/S in November was halted due to Covid-19 challenges and now Microsoft has finally come with a releasing window for Fall 2021.

In a blog post of 343 Industries, creative director Joseph Staten said, “Halo Infinite in the Fall of 2021… is just the beginning of the adventure.”

The blog also stated that 'Halo Infinite' will be visually stunning which previously received some criticism during their July demo version which gave birth to a solidified meme, "Craig", a dead-eyed brute from 'Halo Infinite'. Later, Phil Spencer, executive vice-president of Gaming at Microsoft responded to the memes and accepted Craig as the "official mascot" of Xbox.

In the blog post of 343 industries, various executives from the graphics team have opened up about 'Halo Infinite’s July demo version and said, it wasn’t "at par" of what they wanted it to be. Neill Harrison, director of art management at 343 Industries, said: “The primary goal for the Campaign demo in July was showing Halo Infinite gameplay for the first time. While that aspect generally landed as we wanted, the reality is that the art and visuals weren’t at the bar we hold for Halo – even in a work-in-progress state.”

He added, “Much of the feedback we heard from the community aligned with our own views and work we were already committed to doing around things like indirect lighting, material response, foliage and tree rendering, clouds, level-of-detail transitions, and character fidelity. Still, the feedback was humbling, and it also pushed us to look at additional opportunities for improvement.”

Ani Sashtry, development manager for the graphics team on 'Halo Infinite', stated: “Visual fidelity is a very important goal for Halo Infinite, and the graphics and art teams have been continually aspiring, and working closely with each other, to create the best-looking Halo game ever.”

The team has also addressed the issues with the previous 'Halo' games such as 'Halo 5' where Nicolas “Sparth” Bouvier, the senior concept artist and art director for 343 Industries feel “didn’t take player feedback enough into account, and many felt the game’s visuals were deviating off course. It was vital to embed Halo Infinite within very stable foundations that would borrow from the past as well as making sure that any new assets would convey a sense of legacy that would resonate with all players, old-timers and newcomers alike”.

Taking the best of inspirations from the previous 'Halo' series, 'Halo Infinite' promises a brand new experience where the world will be merged together. Bouvier said, “We knew it wouldn’t be trivial to combine the cleaner and simpler forms of classic games like Halo 1 or 2 with the next-gen requirements and expectations of Halo Infinite. Merging both was going to be a challenge, but we stood close to our visual principles and made it work in the best way, one day at a time. We managed to find a balance of modernized visuals combined with a classic aesthetic that will definitely speak to all, and we couldn’t be more proud of this.”

Here’s what you need to know more about 'Halo Infinite' which already has built a sea of anticipation.

Release date

Fall 2021

Concept

Revealed from the July 2020 demo version, 'Halo Infinite' has an open world charm, a lot like 'Halo: Combat Evolved'. Here, there will be new mechanics like Master Chief’s new grappling hook and a “Drop Wall” cover. 343 Industries explained, “joining the Master Chief and the Pilot as their Pelican comes under fire from enemy anti-air encampments. While the discovery of the Master Chief floating in space initially brought hope – the situation has gone from bad to worse as they find themselves being pursued by the Banished. We’re introduced to a new Brute War Chief, Escharum, who has led the Banished to victory over the UNSC’s forces and taken control of a Halo ring. While Chief is no stranger to battling against Brutes, this is his first time facing the Banished and his most formidable opponent yet.”

Trailer 

Watch the demo here: