Halo Infinite Developer Denies Claim That TV Show Affected Development

In case you missed it, a recent report citing anonymous sources at least partly cast blame on the development of the Halo television show for Showtime as a reason for the recent delay of Halo Infinite to 2021. As we wrote at the time, the accusation seemed a bit flimsy given that these sorts of things are almost always handled by different teams, and developer 343 Industries has now come out and basically said the same thing while disputing the claim that the show had anything to do with the video game’s delay.

“343 Industries has a devoted transmedia team that is working with Showtime on the creation and production of the Halo TV show,” 343 Industries’ statement, provided to IGN by a spokesperson, reads. “This group is separate from the Halo Infinite development team. These are two completely independent projects with dedicated teams and leadership that do not impact one another.”

The original report from Thurrott had stated that one source claimed that the show had “been a significant distraction for 343 management” and often took “their priority instead of focusing on making sure development progress is on the right path to reaching its targeted deadline.” The statement from 343 Industries pretty clearly denies this on all counts.

Halo Infinite is now set to release in 2021, after the aforementioned delay, for the Xbox Series X. As for when, exactly, that might be, it’s anybody’s guess when in the year that might be. The Xbox Series X itself is set to launch this November. The Halo television series previously had an expected release window of 2021, and the series stars Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, Natascha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey/Cortana, and more. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the upcoming Halo title right here.

What do you think about 343 Industries’ response? Are you still looking forward to playing Halo Infinite? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!