Halo TV show reportedly caused delay to Halo Infinite

A new report is claiming that Halo Infinite’s delay 2021 was partly the fault of the upcoming television series called Halo TV.

Update August 20 at 10:07 AM PST

The Halo Infinite developers have denied claims that the television show had any impact on the 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,” the devs said in a statement to IGN. “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.”

Regardless, Halo Infinite has still been pushed back to some time in 2021. When that will be is still up in the air.

Original story follows below.

The Halo TV show is scheduled to premiere in 2021 on Showtime – a premium American television network featuring big-budget programs. As it turns out, the show’s production may have impacted Halo Infinite.

According to a report by Thurrott, the planned television show has become a “significant distraction” for the management at 343 Industries. An insider told the site that, oftentimes, the series’ production would take priority, shifting focus away from Infinite’s development.

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On August 11, 343 revealed that the game would be postponed to 2021, claiming, “multiple factors that have contributed to development challenges, including the ongoing COVID-related impacts affecting us all year.”

The report also claims that these distractions led to interruptions in the development process, keeping it from reaching the targeted deadline, which was meant to be by the end of 2020.

Other factors that contributed to the delay reportedly include a large portion of the game being outsourced to third-party contractors and significant disagreements with Tim Longo, the former creative director for the title.

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Additionally, an insider claimed that there were communication issues with the engineering and marketing teams, as the former asked to hold content back but marketing didn’t listen and kept releasing material.

The delay of Halo Infinite was a substantial blow to Microsoft, who intended the game to launch alongside the Xbox Series X in Holiday 2020.

Meanwhile, the Halo TV show was first announced in 2018 and is being produced by Showtime in association with Microsoft, 343 Industries, and Amblin TV.

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“Halo is our most ambitious series ever, and we expect audiences who have been anticipating it for years to be thoroughly rewarded,” president and CEO of Showtime David Nevins said.

No official release date has been announced for the series, but Showtime has confirmed that it will feature 10 episodes to kick things off.